What are Triglycerides?

There’s more to the story of cholesterol. Triglycerides are a type of fat that your body uses for energy. They travel through the bloodstream to be used by your muscles or are stored in fat tissue for use as energy in the future.

If your triglyceride levels are high, you could be at an increased risk for heart disease. This is because the same factors that increase your risk of heart disease – which include smoking, being overweight, diabetes, and lack of exercise – may have raised your triglyceride level. In other words, high levels of triglycerides usually go hand in hand with other risk for heart disease.

Triglyceride Levels
Normal	Less than 150 mg/dL
Borderline High	150-199 mg/dL
High	200-499 mg/dL
Very High	500 mg/dL or higher

What is:

• Cholesterol?
  
• Low-Density Lipoprotein (LDL)?
  
• High-Density Lipoprotein (HDL)?
  
• Very Low-Density Lipoprotein (VLDL)?
  
• Triglycerides?