However, a cholesterol level of 230
accompanied by systemic inflammation, low
HDL-C, and high triglycerides is a totally
different story—this can happen even if you
consume no cholesterol in your diet. In this
case, high total cholesterol puts you at
increased risk for heart disease and stroke.
Context matters.
Measuring just total cholesterol is kind of
like watching a movie trailer—it gives you a
rough idea of what’s going on, but you need
far more information to evaluate the whole
story. A better big-picture strategy is to use
cholesterol measurements in conjunction with
other lab values (such as LDL particle size,
triglycerides, and C-reactive protein) to paint
a multifaceted picture of your overall health.