Why Are There Different Ways Of Calculating Your Total Cholesterol?
April 24th, 2009 | 
Author: My sister says your total cholesterol should be your HDL + LDL. However, on my last blood test, my HDL + LDL was 10 points lower than my total cholesterol. So, I found some web sites that have the following formula:
HDL + LDL + (Triglyceride * 20%) = Total Cholesterol
The formula above does work to give me my total cholesterol given the other #’s (HDL, LDL, and Triglycerides) on my last blood test results. But, I want to know why my sister’s always come back as:
HDL + LDL = Total Cholesterol
Some web sites say to calculate it one way and others say the other way. Anyone know why they would be different?
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Why Are There Different Ways Of Calculating Your Total Cholesterol?
My sister says your total cholesterol should be your HDL + LDL. However, on my last blood test, my HDL + LDL was 10 points lower than my total cholesterol. So, I found some web sites that have the following formula:
HDL + LDL + (Triglyceride * 20%) = Total Cholesterol
The formula above does work to give me my total cholesterol given the other #’s (HDL, LDL, and Triglycerides) on my last blood test results. But, I want to know why my sister’s always come back as:
HDL + LDL = Total Cholesterol
Some web sites say to calculate it one way and others say the other way. Anyone know why they would be different?