Enter your Total, LDL, HDL, and Triglyceride numbers (from a recent blood test) to see how each compares to standard reference ranges.
The US measures cholesterol in mg/dL; New Zealand, the UK, and most of the rest of the world use mmol/L. Both values are shown below, whichever you enter in.
This tool categorizes your numbers against the standard NCEP ATP III reference ranges — it is not a diagnosis or a personal risk score. Modern cardiovascular risk assessment (like the ACC/AHA PREVENT framework) weighs many more factors — age, blood pressure, smoking, diabetes, and more — than lipid numbers alone. Always discuss your results with a doctor.
Reference ranges: NCEP ATP III (NHLBI). Ratio guidance is a traditional/secondary indicator, not a diagnostic score.
A few extra numbers doctors sometimes look at alongside the panel above.
Whichever unit your lab report uses. US labs typically report mg/dL; most other countries use mmol/L. The calculator converts between them using standard factors (×0.0259 for cholesterol figures, ×0.0113 for triglycerides), so either works.
It's total cholesterol minus HDL, which captures all the cholesterol-carrying particles considered "bad" — not just LDL — in a single number. Some guidelines treat it as a stronger risk marker than LDL on its own.
They express your risk relative to your protective HDL level rather than looking at the "bad" numbers in isolation. Two people with identical LDL can carry different risk if their HDL levels differ.
No. It applies common adult lab reference bands to the numbers you enter, but your actual risk depends on age, family history, other health conditions and more. Talk to a healthcare provider about what your specific numbers mean for you.
