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NetWellness provides the highest quality health information and education services created and evaluated by faculty of our partner universities.
Saturday, May 17, 2008
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NetWellness provides the highest quality health information and education services created and evaluated by faculty of our partner universities.
Saturday, May 17, 2008
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Cholesterol is a building block of the body present in every cell. It is needed to perform many functions, such as making the bile acids that aid digestion. Your body makes its own cholesterol. In addition, cholesterol is taken in as part of your diet and is found in all animal tissues. Therefore, cholesterol comes from the body and from diet. The attempt to restrict it in diet is done to make sure that too high a level is not reached in the body. High levels of cholesterol are linked to atherosclerosis. Atherosclerosis is the most common form of arteriosclerosis, a condition in which the lining of the arteries thickens. Measurement of cholesterol must be accurate. This is important because an accurate measurement of cholesterol is a good indicator of a person's risk of heart disease. Due to concern over this condition, cholesterol measurement is one of the most common laboratory tests performed today.
The cholesterol in the body exists as high density cholesterol (HDL), low density cholesterol (LDL), and very low density cholesterol (VLDL). In addition to the measurement of total cholesterol, a second measurement must be done to determine the low density and high density cholesterol. HDL is associated with good health and is often referred to as "the good cholesterol." It is thought that individuals with high blood levels of HDL are less likely to have coronary heart disease than those with high blood levels of LDL and VLDL.
The state of the patient is important in measuring cholesterol. In order to determine cholesterol levels in the body, blood is drawn from your body and then examined. Patient preparation is a very important part of cholesterol measurement. In order to ensure that your test results are as accurate as possible:
Last Reviewed: Aug 09, 2000
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Amadeo Pesce, PhD Professor Emeritus Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine College of Medicine University of Cincinnati |
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Please note: only your personal physician or other health professional you consult can best advise you on matters of your health based on your medical history, your family medical history, your medication history, and how information from any of these databases may apply to you. Neither University of Cincinnati (NetWellness) nor any party involved in creating, producing or delivering this web site shall be liable for any damages arising out of access to or use of this web site, or any errors or omissions in the content thereof. (More) |