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Fact Sheets and At–a–Glance Reports
Cholesterol Fact Sheet
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following files are available in Portable Document Format (PDF).
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Source: CDC, Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System.
Cholesterol Facts
- Having high blood cholesterol puts you at risk for heart disease, the
leading cause of death in the United States.
- Cholesterol is a waxy,
fat-like substance that your body needs. But, when you have too much in
your blood, it can build up on the walls of your arteries. This can lead
to heart disease and stroke.
- Approximately one in every six adults—16.3% of the U.S. adult
population—has high cholesterol. The level defined as high total
cholesterol is 240 mg/dL and above. People with high cholesterol have
approximately twice the risk for heart disease as people with lower
levels.
- If you have heart disease, lowering your cholesterol can reduce your
risk for having a heart attack, needing heart bypass surgery or
angioplasty, and dying from heart disease. Even if you do not have heart
disease, you can reduce your risk of developing it by lowering your
cholesterol. This is true even if you have normal cholesterol levels.
- There are steps you can take to prevent high cholesterol or
to reduce your levels. These actions include exercising, eating a
healthy diet, and not smoking.
- High cholesterol does not have symptoms. As a result, many
people do not know that their cholesterol is too high. Doctors can do a
simple blood test to check your levels. The
National
Cholesterol Education Program recommends that adults get their
cholesterol checked every five years.
| Desirable Cholesterol
Levels |
| Total cholesterol |
Less than 200 mg/dL |
| LDL ("bad" cholesterol) |
Less than 100 mg/dL* |
| HDL ("good" cholesterol) |
60 mg/dL or higher |
| Triglycerides |
Less than 150 mg/dL |
*Optimal for people at risk for heart disease.
CDC's Public Health Efforts
Since 1998, CDC has funded state health departments' efforts to reduce
the number of people with heart disease or stroke. Health departments in
41 states and the District of Columbia currently receive funding. The
program stresses policy and education to promote heart-healthy and
stroke-free living and working conditions. For more
information on CDC's National Heart Disease and Stroke Prevention Program,
visit
http://www.cdc.gov/dhdsp/state_program/index.htm
For More Information
For more information
about cholesterol, visit the following Web sites:
To learn more about Americans' cholesterol levels, see
Health, United States, an
annual report from CDC.
Return to Top of Page
*Links to non–Federal organizations are provided solely as a service to our users. Links do not constitute an endorsement of any organization by CDC or the Federal Government, and none should be inferred. The CDC is not responsible for the content of the individual organization Web pages found at this link.
Page last reviewed: September 10, 2009
Page last modified: September 10, 2009
Content source: Division for Heart Disease and Stroke
Prevention,
National Center for Chronic Disease Prevention and
Health Promotion |
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