Alcohol also causes a triglyceride surge, so you shouldn't drink alcohol for 24 hours before a fasting cholesterol test.
C-reactive protein CRP is a protein in the blood that increases with inflammation. Because atherosclerosis is fundamentally an inflammatory process, many experts believe that CRP testing could lead to early detection and therefore save lives.
The American Heart Association says CRP tests are most helpful for people at intermediate risk for heart disease, but not those at the low and high ends of the risk spectrum. You should get a fasting cholesterol test at least once every five years for everyone beginning at age A fasting cholesterol test gives you the important numbers: total, LDL, and HDL cholesterol, as well as triglyceride levels.
For more information, read "11 foods that lower cholesterol. As a service to our readers, Harvard Health Publishing provides access to our library of archived content. Please note the date of last review or update on all articles. No content on this site, regardless of date, should ever be used as a substitute for direct medical advice from your doctor or other qualified clinician.
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Get helpful tips and guidance for everything from fighting inflammation to finding the best diets for weight loss Stay on top of latest health news from Harvard Medical School. Currently available only in research settings, the test reveals how effective HDL particles are at moving cholesterol out of plaques and back to the liver. Preliminary findings suggest that high scores are linked to a lower heart disease risk, meaning the test might one day prove useful for predicting heart attack risk.
But two major lines of evidence have also put HDL in a less-than-positive light. The first comes from studies of people with genetic mutations that cause high HDL. If high HDL truly protects against heart disease, those people should have fewer heart attacks. But they don't — they're just as likely to have heart disease as people without HDL-raising mutations. The second body of evidence is perhaps even more incriminating: To date, five major clinical trials that sought to raise HDL levels with drugs have failed to lower heart disease risk.
These trials included several investigational new drugs as well as an old standby, niacin. Many people continue to take niacin, despite the fact that last year, the FDA withdrew its approval for using niacin-containing drugs as add-on drugs for treating cholesterol problems, Dr. Cannon notes. What does all this mean for people with low HDL? Think of it as a warning to pay attention to your other numbers, especially your LDL, which should still be your primary focus.
Aim for an LDL of or lower, ideally through lifestyle changes such as weight loss, a healthy diet, and exercise, plus cholesterol-lowering statins, if indicated. These measures — especially exercise — may also nudge up your HDL. Vigorous workouts that make you sweat seem to be the most effective.
On the flip side, people with high HDL shouldn't assume that it cancels out a high LDL, as some physicians still believe. This was true even among older people and those who were treating a variety of heart risk factors — elevated cholesterol, high blood pressure, diabetes — with medication.
And even though participants were not calorie-restricted, they did not gain weight on the plan, according to the results published in Advances in Nutrition in May By subscribing you agree to the Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. Health Topics. Health Tools. High Cholesterol. Reviewed: August 9, Medically Reviewed.
If a doctor prescribes medication, the person should take it as directed. If they wish to stop using the drug, they should first speak with a doctor. The person may also need support for other health conditions, such as diabetes or high blood pressure. What causes high cholesterol?
Cholesterol is an important indicator of heart disease risk. In some cases, however, a person may develop very high levels of HDL cholesterol, or it may behave in ways that are not beneficial. Scientists are currently investigating how and why this might happen. Meanwhile, experts continue to recommend focusing on minimizing LDL and maximizing HDL levels, preferably through lifestyle measures but also with medication, where necessary.
Cholesterol can deposit around the eyes and form fatty, yellow lumps. Learn about the causes, symptoms, and treatments for cholesterol deposits here. What are the common themes of cholesterol-cutting diets?
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Medically reviewed by Stacy Sampson, D.
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