Is an LDL of 130 high?
An LDL of 130 mg/dL (3.4 mmol/L) is borderline high. Under 100 is optimal, 100 to 129 near optimal, 130 to 159 borderline high, and 160 and above high.
Whether 130 needs treating depends on the rest of the picture: age, blood pressure, smoking, diabetes and family history, combined into a ten-year risk score. For many people at 130 the answer is food and movement; for someone with diabetes or a past heart problem, it is a statin.
What lowers it most: less saturated fat, more fiber (oats, beans, nuts), weight if that applies, and a statin when the risk score says so.
Source: NHLBI, blood cholesterol
See a doctor promptly if
- Chest pressure, tightness or pain, especially with exertion, or spreading to the jaw, neck or arm, needs emergency assessment, not a cholesterol test
- Triglycerides above 500 mg/dL (5.6 mmol/L), and urgently above 880 mg/dL (10 mmol/L), because of the risk of acute pancreatitis
- LDL cholesterol of 190 mg/dL (4.9 mmol/L) or higher, which raises the possibility of familial hypercholesterolaemia
- Thickened tendons at the back of the ankle, raised yellow deposits around the eyelids, or a white ring around the cornea before age 45
- A parent or sibling who had a heart attack or stroke before age 55 in men or 65 in women
- New calf pain on walking that stops with rest, or sudden one-sided weakness or speech difficulty
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Answered by the AskDoc Medical Team · Medically reviewed under our Medical Director, MBBS · How we review
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