NORMAL SERUM CHOLESTEROL

Cholesterol, a waxy substance, helps to manufacture steroids and hormones in your body and also maintains nerve cells. But too much of a good thing can be bad for you, and this is the case with cholesterol. Your liver manufactures enough cholesterol to perform all necessary functions. Cholesterol is also found in animal fats. While eating too much cholesterol can raise your levels, eating too much saturated fat actually plays a larger role. Many people also have familial hypercholesterolemia, or high cholesterol, meaning their bodies make too much cholesterol. Hypercholesterolemia can increase your risk for heart disease.
TOTAL CHOLESTEROL

People sometimes talk about their cholesterol levels as if there were just one type of cholesterol. There are several forms of cholesterol, and some actually benefit your heart, at least in some instances. The types of cholesterol measured on a serum test include highdensity lipoprotein, low-density lipoprotein, very low-density lipoprotein and triglycerides. Together they make up your total cholesterol level, which should optimally be below 200 mg/dL. A total cholesterol level between 200 and 239 mg/dL is considered borderline, and levels over 240 mg/dL are considered high.
HIGH-DENSITY LIPOPROTEIN

High-density lipoprotein, the so-called "good" cholesterol, can decrease your risk of heart disease, so a higher level of this type of cholesterol usually improves your heart health. The exception is genetic high HDL levels, which may not have a protective effect, the Merck Manuals Online Medical Library reports. Keeping your HDL level above 60 mg/dL is optimal; levels below 40 mg/dL for men and 50 mg/dL for women are considered poor. Because HDL can remove LDL, the "bad" cholesterol from blood vessels and from atherosclerotic plaques inside blood vessels, high HDL levels helps lower LDL levels.
LOW-DENSITY LIPOPROTEIN

One goal of cholesterol management is to keep LDL levels low. Optimally, LDL levels should be less than 100 mg/dL, and less than 70 mg/dL is ideal for people with heart disease. Levels between 100 and 129 mg/dL are nearly ideal, while levels between 130 and 159 are considered borderline high. Between 160 and 189 mg/dL is high and 190 mg/dL and above is very high. Since LDL sticks to blood vessel walls, narrowing them and decreasing blood flow, keeping LDL levels low benefits your heart. Low-density lipoprotein can also damage the blood vessel walls, causing blood clots to form. If clots break loose, they can travel to the brain, causing stroke.
TRIGLYCERIDES

Triglycerides are a type of stored fat. When you eat more than you need, your body converts the extra into triglycerides and stores them for later energy use. Normal triglyceride levels should fall below 150 mg/dL. Levels between 150 and 199 mg/dL are considered borderline high and levels over 200 mg/dL are high. Levels over 500 mg/dL are considered very high.