What Are Triglycerides? – HealthyWomen

How are triglycerides measured?

Triglycerides are measured with a easy blood check, typically finished as a part of a ldl cholesterol check often known as a lipid panel. The vary of triglycerides is:

• Regular — Lower than 150 milligrams per deciliter (mg/dL), or lower than 1.7 millimoles per liter (mmol/L)
• Borderline excessive — 150 to 199 mg/dL (1.8 to 2.2 mmol/L)
• Excessive — 200 to 499 mg/dL (2.3 to five.6 mmol/L)
• Very excessive — 500 mg/dL or above (5.7 mmol/L or above)

Individuals with excessive triglycerides (above 200 mg/dL) are 25% extra more likely to die from heart problems than somebody with regular ranges.

What causes excessive triglycerides?

Potential causes of excessive triglycerides embody:

• Eating regimen excessive in sugar, refined carbohydrates and saturated fats
• Untreated diabetes
• Liver illness
• Kidney illness
• Alcohol use
• Smoking
• BMI (physique mass index) over 25
• Thyroid illness
• Lack of bodily exercise

The excellent news? A few of these potential triggers are life-style selections, which means you might be able to decrease your triglycerides by altering your habits.

Why ought to ladies care about triglycerides?

Heart problems is the primary killer of ladies in the US, inflicting 1 in 3 deaths yearly. Since excessive triglycerides could enhance heart problems threat, it’s necessary that girls know their triglyceride ranges in an effort to handle their cardiovascular dangers.

It’s additionally necessary to maintain your triglyceride ranges beneath management as a result of extraordinarily excessive triglycerides (500 mg/dL or above) can enhance the danger of pancreatitis (irritation of the pancreas), which might result in pancreatic most cancers, kidney failure and presumably loss of life.

Danger elements particular to ladies which will enhance triglycerides embody:

Ethnicity may be a “risk-enhancing issue” with regards to heart problems, significantly for ethnicities who’ve an elevated threat for greater triglyceride ranges, like Asian People. This elevated threat for some ethnicities is why the American School of Cardiology, the American Coronary heart Affiliation and 10 different well being organizations now embody a bit of their ldl cholesterol pointers that outlines how race and particular ethnic traits could affect an individual’s threat of creating cardiovascular illnesses.

The hope is that contemplating risk-enhancing elements like ethnicity could enable healthcare suppliers to get a deeper understanding of their sufferers’ wants with regards to managing ldl cholesterol and total coronary heart well being.

Whether or not you fall right into a higher-risk class or not, it’s a good suggestion to speak to your healthcare supplier about having your triglycerides checked.

The American Coronary heart Affiliation recommends all adults over age 20 have their ldl cholesterol (together with triglycerides) checked each 4 to 6 years (or extra typically, relying on threat elements).

Drugs for triglycerides

If life-style adjustments alone aren’t sufficient to maintain your triglycerides in examine, your healthcare supplier could recommend medicine.

Prescription drugs embody:

• Statins, which scale back the quantity of ldl cholesterol produced by your liver however don’t all the time decrease triglycerides. Statins could scale back the danger of coronary heart assault or stroke. However, for folks with elevated triglycerides, the danger of coronary heart assault or stroke stays excessive.
• Fibrates, which decrease triglycerides whereas rising “good” HDL ldl cholesterol. Fibrates don’t scale back your threat of a coronary heart assault or stroke however could also be useful for lowering your threat of pancreatitis if in case you have triglyceride ranges of 500 or extra.
• Prescription-strength omega-3 fatty acids, which decrease the quantity of triglycerides in your bloodstream.
  • Prescription-strength omega-3s with EPA and DHA scale back triglycerides, however don’t scale back threat of coronary heart illness or stroke, even when used with statins. They might be useful for lowering threat of pancreatitis.
  • Prescription-strength omega-3s with a purified type of EPA referred to as IPE scale back triglycerides and medical trials have proven that, when mixed with statins, may considerably scale back the danger of coronary heart illness and stroke in folks with delicate to reasonable triglyceride ranges.

Omega-3 fatty acids are wholesome fat that may decrease your triglycerides Particular sorts of omega-3 acids embody:

• DHA – present in fish
• EPA – present in fish
• ALA – present in plant

Dietary over-the-counter omega-3 dietary supplements haven’t proven any profit for safeguarding your coronary heart.