Blood Work

I got my annual exam over with yesterday – and got all my paperwork signed for the expedition, too! While we were at it the doctor suggested having blood work done as well, since it had been quite a while since I last had it done. What we were mostly concerned with was the cholesterol levels, since I have a family history of high cholesterol.

I got the results back just this morning: I’m good to go!

Total Cholesterol = 194
LDL cholesterol = 110
HDL cholesterol = 63
Triglycerides = 103

Doing a quick Google search, I found the following chart on the recommended levels for cholesterol:

Total cholesterol
Below 200 mg/dL =  Desirable
200-239 mg/dL  =  Borderline high
240 mg/dL and above =  High

LDL cholesterol
Below 70 mg/dL  =  Ideal for people at very high risk of heart disease
Below 100 mg/dL  = Ideal for people at risk of heart disease
100-129 mg/dL  =  Near ideal
130-159 mg/dL  =  Borderline high
160-189 mg/dL  =  High
190 mg/dL and above  =  Very high

HDL cholesterol
Below 40 mg/dL (men)  =  Poor
Below 50 mg/dL (women)  =  Poor
50-59 mg/dL  = Better
60 mg/dL and above  =  Best

Triglycerides
Below 150 mg/dL  =  Desirable
150-199 mg/dL  =  Borderline high
200-499 mg/dL  =  High
500 mg/dL and above  =  Very high