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Heart Health
Should you worry about high triglycerides?
These blood fats can be one of the signs of metabolic syndrome, which increases the risk for having a heart attack or stroke.
Until recently, triglycerides tended to get less attention when looking at cardiovascular risk compared to LDL and HDL cholesterol levels. There's no question that extremely high levels (1,000 mg/dL or more) spell trouble and can lead to acute pancreatitis. But what about treating lower levels of triglycerides? Recent evidence suggests you should work to reduce triglyceride levels of they are higher than normal, especially if you have heart disease or have other risk factors such as diabetes, high blood pressure or smoking.
Triglyceride levels |
|
|
Normal |
Less than 150* |
|
Borderline high |
150–199 |
|
High |
200–499 |
|
Very high |
500 or higher |
|
*All values in milligrams per deciliter Source: National Cholesterol Education Program. |
|
A sign of metabolic syndrome
People with metabolic syndrome are several times more likely to have a heart attack or stroke. The risk of eventually developing diabetes is even greater.
A syndrome is, by definition, a group of signs and symptoms that occur together because of an underlying condition. For metabolic syndrome, that group includes abdominal obesity (as measured by waistline), high blood pressure, high blood sugar, low HDL cholesterol — and, yes, high triglyceride levels.
So as doctors have started to take metabolic syndrome more seriously, they've also started to pay more attention to triglyceride levels as one of its telltale signs.
Triglycerides go it aloneHDL and triglycerides are metabolically connected and are often inversely related: As triglycerides go up, HDL goes down — and vice versa. But that isn't always so. People can have "isolated" high triglycerides without low HDL levels, and research is now showing that high triglycerides are an independent risk factor for cardiovascular disease, no matter what the HDL is. |
What you can do
Many of the steps you should take to lower triglycerides are the same ones you should take to protect your heart and health overall.
If you're overweight, shed a few pounds. Get regular aerobic exercise (the kind that increases your heart rate). Limit the saturated fats in meat and dairy products. Watch your alcohol intake, even moderate drinking ramps up triglyceride levels. And diet? High-carb/low-fat eating will increase your triglycerides and lower your HDL.
If you're taking a statin to lower your LDL, one side benefit may be reduced triglyceride levels. Depending on the dose, statins can lower triglycerides by 20%–40%.
The omega-3 fats in fish and fish oil capsules are another triglyceride-lowering option. For a very high triglyceride level, your doctor can prescribe a high-dose omega-3 medication.
Image: udra/Getty Images
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No content on this site, regardless of date, should ever be used as a substitute for direct medical advice from your doctor or other qualified clinician.
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