What you can learn 
Once you have your results, you can compare them to the guidelines created by the National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence (NICE), the organisation that sets cholesterol recommendations. Its goal is to prevent illness and death from coronary heart disease by reducing high cholesterol and reducing your risk factors. If your cholesterol is anything but optimal, you may want to see your GP to discuss ways of improving your cholesterol levels and determining your risk.
Here are the NCEP cholesterol classifications:
|
Total Cholesterol
|
Less than 5.0 mmol/l
|
|
LDL Cholesterol
|
Less than 3.0 mmol/l
|
|
HDL Cholesterol
|
More than 1.0 mmol/l (men)
More than 1.2 mmol/l (women)
|
Who should be screened and how often
According to NICE:
- Men over 34 years should be screened every 5 years
- Women over 44 years should be screened every 5 years
- Those who have diabetes, heart disease, kidney disease, taking cholesterol-lowering medications or other factors that put them at higher risk for chronic heart disease, may may require more frequent testing.
How to prepare
You must fast for 8 hours prior to your screening.
