low-density lipoprotein cholesterol

What is LDL cholesterol?

LDL stands for Low Density Lipoprotein. It is the particle that transports cholesterol from the liver to the rest of the body. If there is too much LDL in your blood, it can accumulate in the artery walls and increase the risk of cardiovascular disease. You usually don't feel high LDL, which is why it is important to measure it.

Why LDL is called bad

If there is too much LDL cholesterol in your blood, it can accumulate in the walls of your arteries and cause atherosclerosis. This increases the risk of narrowing, heart attack, stroke, and other cardiovascular diseases.

Target values at FH.

Roughly speaking, Dutch (and European) guidelines apply the following order of magnitude (in mmol/l):

• No or slightly increased risk: often target LDL below approximately 3.0.
• Increased risk (including FH): target LDL below 2.6 (1.8 in European guidelines)
• Very high risk (history of cardiovascular disease and FH): target LDL below 1.8 (1.4 in European guidelines)