It was thought that the LDL HDL cholesterol ratio (or HDL LDL ratio) was more important than individual levels of HDL cholesterol and LDL cholesterol. But now the medical community is divided on the effectiveness of using the ratio to predict the chances of developing heart disease. It is now generally believed that the individual cholesterol numbers are more useful than the ratio.
The Foundation recommends that irrespective of the ratio, one should try to reduce the LDL cholesterol.
Total cholesterol to HDL cholesterol ratio (Total / HDL) is found by dividing total cholesterol by HDL cholesterol. The total cholesterol is the sum of HDL, LDL, and the VLDL.
Total/HDL Ratio
= [Total Cholesterol/HDl Cholesterol]
This ratio becomes high when the total cholesterol increases and HDL cholesterol decreases. Low ratio indicates lower risk of heart attack, while high ratio indicates higher risk. The total/HDL becomes low for low total cholesterol and high HDL cholesterol values. The safe total/HDL ratio is less than 4. Total/HDL is more commonly obtained because the total cholesterol is easier and cheaper to obtain.
LDL to HDL cholesterol ratio (LDL/HDL) is found by diving LDL cholesterol by HDL cholesterol values.
LDL/HDL Ratio
= [LDL Cholesterol / HDL Cholesterol]
The LDL/HDL ratio is more important ratio than total cholesterol/HDL because LDL is a measure of bad cholesterol and HDL is a measure of good cholesterol. LDL/HDL is therefore an accurate measure of heart disease although it is costly to measure LDL cholesterol. The risk levels of different values of LDL/HDL ratios are:
Risk Level | LDL/HDL Ratio | HDL/LDL Ratio |
Low risk
Average risk
Moderate risk
High risk | 3.3 - 4.4
4.4 - 7.1
7.1 - 11.0
11.0 | 0.22 - 0.30
0.14 - 0.22
0.09 - 0.14
0.09 |
One should try to lower LDL cholesterol and raising HDL cholesterol to achieve a LDL HDL ratio below 3 OR the goal should be to keep the HDL/LDL ratio above 0.3, with the ideal HDL/LDL ratio being above 0.4.
Cholesterol LDL HDL Ratio
