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Explainer

Cholesterol Numbers Explainer

Copy the values from your lipid blood report into the fields below, in whichever unit your lab prints, and each number is explained in plain language. Enter what you have; leave the rest blank. Nothing you enter leaves this page.

Which unit does your report use?

Mauritian labs commonly print mmol/L; some reports use mg/dL. The unit is written next to each value.

Sex on your report (only used for the HDL guide line)

Optional. Some reports calculate it, some measure it.

Optional.

Sources

  1. What your cholesterol result means NHS, 2023Source of the general-population guide values quoted as conventions.
  2. About cholesterol American Heart Association, 2024
  3. Cardiovascular disease: risk assessment and reduction, including lipid modification (NG238) NICE, 2023Why personal targets differ from population guide values.

Last reviewed: 2026-07-16

Keep going

  • Cholesterol is one of your eight factors: see the whole picture in the Heart Habits Check.
  • For the rest of your blood report, our sibling site HealthspanLabs.mu explains common panels the same way.

Why your neighbor's target is not your target

Public guide values, like the NHS numbers this tool quotes, describe what generally looks healthy across a whole population. But cholesterol treatment is decided on personal risk: someone who has already had a heart attack, or who lives with diabetes, will be given a much lower LDL target than a healthy thirty-year-old with the same lab report. Two people, identical numbers, different verdicts, and both verdicts correct.

That is why this page explains but never grades. Take the explained report to the follow-up appointment, and ask one question that unlocks the whole conversation: "What should MY targets be, and why?"

Written against NHS cholesterol guidance, AHA patient education and NICE NG238. Last reviewed 2026-07-16.