My Cholesteral is 2.9, Anyone like to explain what this means?

Question

My GP said this was excellent result as im taking Accutane , which raises Cholsteral levels.

What does my 2.9 mean

Answer 1

It means I'm jealous. Mine was 4.1 the last time I had it checked and that was supposed to be good.

Above 5.2 is generally accepted as being undesireable.

To put it another way, if blood was like oil, then someone with high cholesterol would be Brent Crude, whilst your veins are filled with baby oil.

Answer 2

It's usually the ratio between the good cholesterol and the bad cholesterol. For a man under 5 is OK, and for a woman under 4.5 I think is considered OK, so 2.9 is very good.

For a better understanding though, you would need to know the good and bad levels, as you could have high bad cholesterol levels but exeptionally low good levels, which give the ratio of 2.9. Overally, I think that's good enough not to need to worry though.

Answer 3

It really depends on what cholesterol level your doctor is talking about. S/he would normally get at least three results from a cholesterol test ... Total cholesterol, LDL (Low density lipoprotein or 'bad' cholesterol) and HDL (High density lipoprotein or 'good' cholesterol).

Take a look at the following sites. They'll give you a much better explanation than I could. The first one explains about the different types of cholesterol, and the second one tells you about ranges of cholesterol levels and what that might mean for you. (The figures you read may give you undue concern. This is because the American figures are measured in mg/dL (milligrams per deciliter - deciliter spelt the American way, of course) whereas in the UK we measure them in mmol/l (millimoles per litre). To convert American figures to UK figures, simply divide the American number by 18.)

Answer 4

The average level for total cholesterol in the blood stream in the UK is 5.5 mmol/l for men and 5.6 for women which is above normal level.

The National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence (NICE) and Department of Health cholesterol guidelines are:

less than 5.0mmol/l for total cholesterol, and
less than 3.0mmol/l for LDL cholesterol (low-density lipoprotein, or "bad" cholesterol to you and me)

I would therefore guess that your level of 2.9 is a measure of HDL cholesterol (high-density lipoproteins, or "good" cholesterol) as your GP is unlikely to be happy you are putting on bad cholsesterol which is linked with coronary heart disease and the measure seems awfully low for a total cholesterol level for someone on Accutane.

Why not just ask them though whether it measures total or just good cholesterol? It is the only way to find out for sure.

I hope this helps you.

Answer 5

that is excellent, we are all striving to get one like that, its good because you are not at such a risk of getting heart attacks and strokes, i expect you had tablets to raise it a little as it was too low, and we all need a bit of healthy cholesterol to function properly

Answer 6

Have a little look here. 2.9 is good.

xxR

Answer 7

Hey wish mine was. I though 3.1 was ok but you could run a bus through your veins.

Answer 8

that is a good number of Cholesteral... u can not be very fat,,, u must be healthy... keep going that way...

Answer 9

my doc said mine was 3 point something, and said it was fine, so yours is great!!

Answer 10

It means nothing at all