Sounds good to me Mark heres what i could find
Healthy cholesterol levels
The average total cholesterol level in the UK is 5.5mmol/l for men and 5.6mmol/l for women, which is above a normal level. So does that mean that most people need to take anticholesterol drugs?
In recent years, we've come to realise that to decide whether an individual's cholesterol levels are dangerous, these levels need to be considered in the light of the person's overall risk of heart disease.
In particular, it's the balance of different types of lipoproteins, rather than the overall total cholesterol level, that matters.
This overall risk is determined by a combination of factors, including age, gender, family history of heart disease, and whether someone smokes, is overweight, has high blood pressure or diabetes.
The higher the risk of heart disease (for example, a male smoker with high blood pressure and diabetes), the greater the need to get cholesterol levels down.
But what constitutes a healthy cholesterol level is controversial, even among doctors.
The National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence (NICE) and Department of Health cholesterol guidelines, which is the policy doctors follow, are:
?Total cholesterol - less than 5.0mmol/l
?LDL cholesterol - less than 3.0mmol/l
However, the Joint British Societies (a group of the main UK expert societies involved in cardiovascular disease) recommend different cholesterol limits for people who have, or are at risk of, coronary heart disease:
?Total cholesterol - less than 4.0mmol/l
?LDL cholesterol - less than 2.0mmol/l
These guidelines match the more stringent recommendations used in Europe.
NICE is currently reviewing its national policy guidelines.
