Hikers make their way up the trail to Grays Peak, located on the Continental Divide. Paired with nearby Torreys Peak, the two mountains combine for a solid 1-2 punch for a beginner looking to summit their first fourteener. (Photo: Stephen Meyers/The Coloradoan )Buy Photo.
The ratio of HDL/LDL looks at the ratio of good cholesterol (HDL) to bad cholesterol (LDL). The ratio is determined by dividing the LDL cholesterol into the HDL cholesterol. For example, if a person has an HDL cholesterol of 50 mg/dL and an LDL cholesterol of 150 mg/dL, the HDL/LDL ratio would be 0.33. The goal is to keep the ratio above 0.3, with the ideal HDL/LDL ratio being above 0.4.
To calculate your cholesterol ratio, divide your high-density lipoprotein (HDL, or good) cholesterol number into your total cholesterol number. An optimal ratio is less than 3.5-to-1. A higher ratio means a higher risk of heart disease. Non-HDL cholesterol, as its name implies, simply subtracts your HDL cholesterol number from your total cholesterol number. So it contains all the bad types of cholesterol. An optimal level of non-HDL cholesterol is less than 130 milligrams per deciliter (mg/dL), or 3.37 millimoles per liter (mmol/L).