What Is a Lipid Panel?

A lipid panel measures the fats in your blood that affect cardiovascular risk.

Components

• Total cholesterol: below 200 mg/dL
• LDL (bad): below 100 mg/dL
• HDL (good): above 40 (men) / 50 (women)
• Triglycerides: below 150 mg/dL

Fasting

• 9–12 hours preferred for accurate triglycerides
• Non-fasting increasingly accepted for screening

Non-HDL Cholesterol

• Total minus HDL = non-HDL
• Goal: below 130 mg/dL (or below 100 for high-risk)