What's The Difference Between LDL And HDL Cholesterol?

Bad Cholesterol Vs. Good Cholesterol

What's the difference between LDL and HDL cholesterol is a question doctors often hear when talking to their patients about cholesterol health. The intent of this page is to describe the difference between ldl and hdl cholesterol and provide information on why this difference is important. This article is written to give readers basic information answering the questions what's the difference between LDL and HDL cholesterol to readers with no medical training or background. It is not intended for medical professionals.

The difference between ldl and hld cholesterol  There have been a lot of stories done in the mainstream media lately about LDL "bad"cholesterol and HDL or "good" cholesterol. Nonetheless, many people don't really understand the difference between LDL and HDL. Why is LDL bad for you? Why is HDL good for you? What do LDL and HDL even mean?

To answer these questions, it helps to have a little basic knowledge about what cholesterol is and what it does in your body.

Lipoproteins are the carriers of lipids in the blood. "Lipid" is basically an medical word for fat. Low density lipoproteins (LDL) and high density lipoproteins (HDL) are so named on the basis of their components, size & density.

Lipids in the diet are digested & absorbed into the blood in the form of free fatty acids and chylomicrons. Chylomicrons are composed of protein, phospholipid, cholesterol & triglycerides. The liver breaks down the remains of chylomicron & other lipids, to produce VLDL (very low density lipoprotein).

Fats, including cholesterol, cannot dissolve in blood or water. So they bind to the lipoproteins that travel in the body.

LDL cholesterol is considered as ‘bad’ cholesterol because elevated levels of LDL cholesterol combined with other fats tend to get attached to the inner walls of the arteries. This will reduce the inner dimensions of the arteries causing high blood pressure in the initial stages. It may clog the whole artery sometimes, making the blood flow almost impossible.

Sometimes, these deposits may get detached from the wall and run in the blood. They get blocked in smaller vessels, completely cutting off the supply to that particular organ. For example, if this plaque blocks the blood flow to the heart, it causes heart attack and heart failure. When it get blocked in an artery that supplies the brain, ends up in a stroke.

On the other hand, HDL cholesterol is the good variety of fat, as it does not allow adhesion of harmful cholesterol in your arteries and reduces the incidence of heart attack and stroke. Having too little HDL increasesthe risk of heart failure.

High triglycerides often have a high total cholesterol level especially high LDL & low HDL concentrations.

Hence, the cholesterol ratio of LDL & HDL concentration is important to assess the risk of heart & vascular diseases.
  

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