Select a condition Absence seizures Acne ADHD Age-related macular degeneration AIDS Alzheimer's disease AMD Amebic dysentery Anal tears Angina, stable Angina, unstable Ankle sprain Anorexia Anxiety Appendicitis Arthritis Asthma in adults Asthma in children Athlete's foot Atrial fibrillation Attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) Autism Back pain Bacterial vaginosis Bad breath Bedsores Bedwetting Bell's palsy Benign prostatic hyperplasia Bipolar disorder Bladder infection in women Blood pressure Breast cancer Breast pain Bronchiectasis Bronchiolitis Bronchitis Bulimia Bunions Burning mouth syndrome Burns and scalds Canker sores Cardiac arrest Carpal tunnel syndrome Cataracts Cellulitis and erysipelas Chickenpox Childbirth, heavy bleeding Childbirth, tear or cut Chlamydia Chronic bronchitis Chronic fatigue syndrome Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease Chronic prostatitis Chronic tension type headache Cold sores Colic in babies Colon and rectal cancer Colon and rectal cancer screening Colonic diverticular disease Common cold Conjunctivitis Constipation in adults Constipation in children COPD Crib death Deep vein thrombosis Dementia Depression in adults Depression in children Diabetes, type 1 Diabetes, type 2 Diarrhea in adults Diarrhea in children Diverticular disease Ear infection, middle ear Ear infection, outer ear Ear infection with discharge Ear infection with fluid Ear pain during air travel Ear wax Eczema Emphysema Endometriosis Enlarged prostate Epilepsy Episiotomy Erection problems Essential tremor Febrile seizures Fertility problems Fibroids Flu Gallstones Genital herpes Genital warts GERD GERD in children Glaucoma Gonorrhea Gout Group B streptococcus H. pylori infection Halitosis Hay fever Headache, chronic tension type Head lice Heart and circulation problems in diabetes Heart attack Heartburn Heart failure Heavy periods Heel pain Hemorrhoids Hepatitis B Hepatitis C Hernia Herpes, genital Herpes simplex eye infection High blood pressure High blood pressure in pregnancy High cholesterol HIV infection Hyperactivity IBS Incontinence in women Infection in newborn babies Infertility Influenza Insomnia in adults Irritable bowel syndrome Jaundice in newborn babies Jet lag Kidney infection Kidney stones Leg cramps Leg ulcers Lewy body dementia Lung cancer Lyme disease Macular degeneration Malaria prevention Manic depression Mastalgia Measles, mumps and rubella: prevention Melanoma Meniere's disease Meningococcal disease Menopause Migraine in adults Migraine in children MMR prevention Morning sickness Multiple sclerosis Nail infection, fungal Neck pain Nicotine addiction Non-Hodgkin's lymphoma Nosebleeds in children Obesity Obsessive-compulsive disorder OCD Oral thrush Osteoarthritis Osteoporosis Ovarian cancer Painful periods Pancreas cancer Panic attacks Parkinson's disease PCOS Pelvic inflammatory disease Perineal care Peripheral arterial disease Peripheral vascular disease Pneumonia Polycystic ovary syndrome Postpartum depression Postpartum hemorrhage Post-traumatic stress disorder Preeclampsia Pregnancy, nausea Premature birth Pressure sores Prostate cancer Prostatitis, chronic Psoriasis PTSD Raynaud's disease Rectal cancer screening Recurrent cystitis Reflux in children Rheumatoid arthritis Scabies Schizophrenia Seasonal allergy Shoulder pain Sickle cell anemia Sickle cell disease SIDS Sinusitis Skin cancer (melanoma) Skin cancer (squamous cell) Sleep apnea Sleep problems in children Slipped disk Smoking Sore throat Stomach ulcers Stress headache Stress incontinence Stroke, emergency care Stroke prevention Sudden infant death syndrome Swimmer's ear Tennis elbow Tension headache Testicular cancer Thrush (oral) Tic douloureux Tinnitus Tonsillitis Toxoplasmosis in pregnancy Trigeminal neuralgia Underactive thyroid Urinary tract infections in children Varicocele Varicose veins Vascular dementia Warts Whiplash Wisdom teeth, impacted Wrinkles Yeast infection, vagina

Select treatment area Bladder & Kidneys Blood Brain & nervous system Cancer Children's health Diabetes Digestive system Ear, nose & throat Eating & weight Eyes Fertility Heart and circulation Hormones Infections Lungs & breathing Men's health Mental health Mouth Muscles & bones Pregnancy & childbirth Sexual health Skin Sleep Staying healthy Travel health Women's health

Your doctor may offer you a cholesterol test as part of a general check on your health. Or you may be advised to have your cholesterol checked because you have other risk factors for heart disease, such as high blood pressure, and your doctor wants to know what kind of treatment you need. All that's needed is a simple blood test.

When doctors take a blood sample to check your cholesterol level they don't just measure the amount of cholesterol in your blood. They measure the different types of cholesterol in your blood and also the amount of triglycerides. This type of test is called a lipid profile. Lipids is the name given to fats in your blood.

For more information, see More about cholesterol and triglycerides.

You'll usually be asked not to eat for nine hours to 12 hours before you have a lipid profile so that all your food has had time to be digested and won't affect the test. This is because after a meal the level of triglycerides in your blood is higher than normal. This type of test is called a fasting lipid (or lipoprotein) profile.

All that's needed for a lipid profile is a blood sample. This can be taken from a vein either on the inside of your elbow or from the back of your hand. To take this sample, your doctor or nurse usually places a type of elastic band, called a tourniquet, around your upper arm to make it easier to collect the blood.

The doctor then inserts a needle into your vein and collects your blood in the syringe or in a small glass tube. You may feel a slight pinch when the needle pierces your skin, but this won't last.

After your blood is taken, it is sent off to a laboratory where the lipids in it are measured.

The lipid profile gives you four readings, or numbers. Your doctor may call these your "cholesterol numbers."

These numbers are levels of:

• Total cholesterol (the amount of bad LDL cholesterol plus the good HDL cholesterol circulating in your blood)
• LDL cholesterol (the bad cholesterol that clogs up blood vessels)
• HDL cholesterol (the good cholesterol that picks up any extra cholesterol in your blood vessels)
• Triglycerides (bad lipids).

The levels of lipids in your blood are measured in milligrams per deciliter of blood, or mg/dL for short.^{1 2}

The numbers mean different things for children.

This information is for educational use only, and is not a substitute for prompt professional medical advice. Readers should always consult a physician or other professional for advice and treatment. ©BMJ Publishing Group Limited 2008. All rights reserved.