Is my cholesterol bad?
Your total, HDL and triglycerides in either unit. Out come your LDL, your non-HDL and where both sit against the 2026 US goal for your risk, and one next step.
Showing an example panel. Type your own numbers.
Leave LDL blank if your report says calculated.
ApoB, if your report has it
Both sets of changes apply. Start with triglycerides, since they move in weeks.
LDL
The NIH equation, from your other three numbers134mg/dL, 3.5 mmol/L
The newer equation says 134, and many labs would print 129. A gap of 5 mg/dL.
Clears 0 of 3 goal lines. Compared with under 100, the goal at borderline or intermediate risk. Ask your doctor for your PREVENT score to find your rung.
Non-HDL
Total minus HDL: the cholesterol in every particle that can clog an artery177mg/dL, 4.6 mmol/L
Compared with under 130 mg/dL. Its goals sit 30 points above LDL's, and with triglycerides of 150 or more the guideline finds it the better guide.
Triglycerides
Not fasting240mg/dL, 2.7 mmol/L
Over the nonfasting line of 175, the guideline's line for treating triglycerides with lifestyle.
- HDL
- 38Low, under 40. Higher isn't a goal.
- Total to HDL
- 5.7No goal in the 2026 guideline
- Triglycerides to HDL
- 6.3No goal either
- Remnant, an estimate
- 43Total minus HDL minus LDL. Rises with triglycerides
- Total
- 215Under the NCHS line of 240, and the guideline sets no goal for it
You're 34 points from under 100, the goal at borderline or intermediate risk. The biggest single food change in trials takes off about 13. A gap this size is a conversation to have with your doctor.
Next step. Start with alcohol and sweet drinks for your triglycerides, add the fat swap and 10 g of psyllium for your LDL, then retest at the same lab in 6 to 12 weeks. The LDL plan
If you ate before this test, your LDL moved about 8 points at most, your triglycerides about 26.
What your result means
- First, check for these
- LDL of 190 or more, or triglycerides of 500 or more: see a doctor before any food plan.
- Chest pain, pressure or sudden breathlessness: call 911.
- On a cholesterol medicine: keep taking it. Your prescriber sets your goal.
- Pregnant: cholesterol rises on purpose. Ask your midwife or doctor.
- Find your goal
Ask your doctor for your 10-year risk on PREVENT. It gives your LDL goal: under 100, 70 or 55 mg/dL, and non-HDL 130, 100 or 85. Until you know, hold yours against 100 and 130.
- Compare, and pick one path
- Under your goal. Keep your habits and test again at least every 5 years.
- Over by less than 30 points. Food can close a gap that size. Start the fat swap and 10 g of psyllium, then retest at the same lab in 6 to 12 weeks.
- Over by 30 or more, an LDL of 160 or more, or a parent or sibling with heart disease young. Have the medicine conversation with your doctor now, and do the food changes too.
- Triglycerides over 150 fasting or 175 after eating
Cut alcohol and sweet drinks first, walk most days, and retest in 4 weeks.
- Once in your life, and when numbers disagree
Get Lp(a) tested once. If your triglycerides run high or you have diabetes, ask for ApoB too, since it counts the particles directly (check yours on apob.guide).
This guide helps you understand your numbers and do what food and habits can. It never tells you to start, stop or change a medicine. That's for you and your doctor.
One panel is one snapshot. Keep it with its date and whether you'd eaten, so the next one can be held against it.
The goals by risk
The 2026 US guideline brought back LDL goals. Which one is yours depends on your risk of a heart attack or stroke, which your doctor works out with the PREVENT calculator. This page never computes a risk score: pick the band your doctor gave you, or see where you sit on every rung.
| Which fits you | LDL goal | Non-HDL goal |
|---|---|---|
| Heart attack, stroke, stent or bypass | under 55 mg/dL1.4 mmol/L, or under 70 (1.8) if your doctor says you're not at very high risk | under 85 mg/dL2.2 mmol/L, or under 100 (2.6) if your doctor says you're not at very high risk |
| Diabetes, ages 40 to 75 | under 100 mg/dL2.6 mmol/L, or under 70 (1.8) if your doctor puts your 10-year risk over 10% | under 130 mg/dL3.4 mmol/L, or under 100 (2.6) if your doctor puts your 10-year risk over 10% |
| High 10-year risk (10% or more) | under 70 mg/dL1.8 mmol/L | under 100 mg/dL2.6 mmol/L |
| Borderline or intermediate risk (3 to under 10%) | under 100 mg/dL2.6 mmol/L | under 130 mg/dL3.4 mmol/L |
| Low risk (under 3%) | No number goal, healthy habits | No number goal, healthy habits |
From the 2026 ACC/AHA guideline, with the low-risk and diabetes rows as Labcorp's summary sets them out. An LDL of 190 or more is a doctor visit at any risk.
How it works
Total cholesterol, HDL and triglycerides are measured. Most reports work LDL out from those three. The page uses the LDL on your report if you type it, and otherwise the NIH equation (Sampson 2020), one of the two the guideline prefers, with Friedewald beside it, the 1972 formula many labs still print. Non-HDL is total minus HDL, and its goals sit 30 points above LDL's.
Triglycerides are held against 150 if you fasted and 175 if you didn't, the guideline's line for treating them with lifestyle, and against 500 and 1000, where the worry turns to your pancreas. HDL under 40 is low by the NCHS line. Cholesterol in mmol/L is mg/dL times 0.02586, triglycerides times 0.0113.
8 sources
- Blumenthal RS, Morris PB, Gaudino M and others, 2026 ACC/AHA guideline on the management of dyslipidemia, JACC, 2026doi.org
- Labcorp, 2026 ACC/AHA dyslipidemia guideline updatelabcorp.com
- Sampson M and others, A new equation for calculation of low-density lipoprotein cholesterol in patients with normolipidemia and/or hypertriglyceridemia, JAMA Cardiology, 2020doi.org
- Friedewald WT, Levy RI, Fredrickson DS, Estimation of the concentration of low-density lipoprotein cholesterol in plasma, Clinical Chemistry, 1972pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov
- Langsted A, Freiberg JJ, Nordestgaard BG, Fasting and nonfasting lipid levels, Circulation, 2008pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov
- CDC NCHS Data Brief 515, Total and high-density lipoprotein cholesterol in adults: United States, August 2021 to August 2023cdc.gov
- Cohen JC and others, Sequence variations in PCSK9, low LDL, and protection against coronary heart disease, NEJM, 2006pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov
- Martin SS and others, Comparison of a novel method vs the Friedewald equation for estimating LDL cholesterol, JAMA, 2013pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov
