4 Lifesaving Numbers

Blood Pressure Level

120/80 or lower is normal blood pressure
120 - 139/80 - 89 is prehypertension
140/90 or higher is high blood pressure

Cholesterol Level
(measured in milligrams per deciliter)

Total cholesterol should be under 200 mg/dL
HDL (good cholesterol) 40 mg/dL (the higher the better)
LDL (bad cholesterol) under 100 mg/dL

You can lower your cholesterol by exercising more and eating more fruits and vegetables. You also may need to take medicine to lower your cholesterol.

Blood Sugar Level
(measured in milligrams per deciliter)

Up to 100 mg/dL are considered normal

Waist Size

Measured at the level of your belly button, your waist size should be half your height or less. Example - 33 inches if you are 5'6"

Here is another important number -

Triglycerides Levels
(measured in milligrams per deciliter)

Triglycerides should be under 150 mg/dL
Borderline - high 150 - 199 mg/dL
High 200 - 499 mg/dL
Very High 500 mg/dL or above

Triglycerides are a form of fat carried through the bloodstream.

Most of your body's fat is in the form of triglycerides stored in fat tissue.

Only a small portion of your triglycerides is found in the bloodstream.

High blood triglyceride levels alone do not necessarily cause atherosclerosis (the buildup of cholesterol and fat in the walls of arteries). But some lipoproteins that are rich in triglycerides also contain cholesterol, which causes atherosclerosis in some people with high triglycerides, and high triglycerides are often accompanied by other factors, such as low HDL ("good") cholesterol or a tendency toward diabetes, that raise heart disease risk.

So high triglycerides may be a sign of a lipoprotein problem that contributes to heart disease.

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