When you think about cholesterol and don't know much about it, then the first thing that comes to your mind is, where does this cholesterol come from? Well, your liver is responsible for making most of you cholesterol mainly from the saturated fats in your diet. And the rest comes from foods like dairy products, meats and eggs. As the level of cholesterol in your body directly relates to heart disease, therefore, it is very significant for all people to know their cholesterol levels because high blood cholesterol is a key risk factor for stroke and coronary heart disease.

Every year, about 500,000 persons in North America suffer from heart disease and the main reason behind this is their high cholesterol levels. Studies have also shown that if people lower their cholesterol levels, then the risk of coronary heart disease will be decreased up to forty percent. But what do you exactly mean by cholesterol levels? There are different numbers of cholesterol that your body can have namely: desirable, borderline, or less desirable and high risk. If you can understand these levels clearly then you will become very aware of your condition and will be able to take the best measures needed to lower the risk of suffering a heart attack.

Men who are aged 35 and older and for women who are aged 45 and older must check their cholesterol levels from time to time. Below are the three basic categories for your total blood cholesterol:

- Desirable - Less than 200 mg/dL

- Borderline High Risk - 200-239 mg/dL

- High Risk - 240 mg/dL and over

This means your risk of heart attack is fairly low if your total blood cholesterol is lower than 200 mg/dL. When your total is somewhat like between 200 mg/dL to 239 mg/dL then it could be said that you are in the borderline high risk category and if it is 240 mg/dL or more then you are included in the high risk category. Besides this way, there are possible two other methods by which you can get a complete reading on the cholesterol levels in your blood: the LDL and HDL ratio and the total cholesterol and HDL ratio. The desirable number of total cholesterol and HDL ratio is expected at 4.5 and below, borderline is 4.5 to 5.5, and high risk is above 5.5. on the other hand, desirable number of LDL and HDL ratio is considered at 3 and below, 3 to 5 is the borderline, and above 5 the high risk.

Therefore if you have high cholesterol then it is very important to maintain your high blood pressure, eat healthy diet, avoid smoking get regular exercise, and control a healthy weight. If you think your cholesterol level is at desirable number, it is most favorable to maintain it by sticking to exercise and a healthy diet. If you know how to find out whether you have high cholesterol levels or not, you have the ability to start working on the problem from the time then before it is too late.