Facts

• A non-fasting cholesterol test can cause triglyceride levels to increase by 20 to 30 percent, according to Harvard Health Publications. The triglycerides in the body are fat and form the lipids in the bloodstream.
  
  

Considerations

• Doctors do not use non-fasting cholesterol tests to determine the appropriate treatment. When a patient is undergoing treatment for high cholesterol the doctor will use fasting test results to evaluate the effect of treatment and make changes to cholesterol medications.
  
  

Types

• Doctors use various types of cholesterol tests to measure the level of blood cholesterol in a patient. The direct measurement of LDL cholesterol is a costly test that can measure LDL levels directly without the need for the equation that is used in other tests and patients do not have to fast before this test.
  
  

Identification

• Total cholesterol levels should remain under 200 mg/dL. Normal levels for LDL cholesterol should be under 100 mg/dL while HDL or good cholesterol should be above 40 mg/dL. Triglycerides should remain under 150 mg/dL, according to Harvard Health Publications.
  
  

Warnings

• Accurate cholesterol numbers are a very important indicator of your risk for heart disease. Untreated high cholesterol leads to clogged arteries, which leads to heart attack.