Dyslipidemia is the medical term for blood fat levels sitting outside the healthy range, and it is followed mainly for what those levels say about a person’s risk of heart attack and stroke [1,4].
This page provides general information. It does not replace advice from a doctor or another qualified healthcare professional.
Lipids are fats, and the body needs them. Cholesterol is a waxy, fat-like substance needed in the right amounts, and triglycerides are the fat the body uses for energy [10,8]. LDL, or low-density lipoprotein, is called “bad” cholesterol, since high levels build up as fatty deposits in the arteries. HDL, or high-density lipoprotein, is called “good” cholesterol, since it carries cholesterol back to the liver to be removed [10].
Dyslipidemia means the pattern of these fats sits outside the healthy range. It is a description rather than a single disease, covering high blood cholesterol, raised triglycerides and raised lipoprotein(a) [1]. British and European documents spell it “dyslipidaemia”, and the United Kingdom’s health service calls the commonest version “high cholesterol” [2,4].
This page is the overview. The detail sits on four other pages.
Low HDL is the fourth pattern and has no separate guide. About 17 percent of United States adults had an HDL below 40 mg/dL between 2017 and 2020 [7].
Very common, though no single global figure exists, since countries measure it differently. In a United States survey covering 2017 to 2020, 10 percent of adults aged 20 and over had a total cholesterol above 240 mg/dL, and about 86 million were above 200 mg/dL [7,8].
Those figures count survey measurements rather than diagnoses. The true number is probably higher, since about a third of United States adults have not had a cholesterol check in five years [7].
In the United Kingdom, raised cholesterol is described as more likely over 50, in men, after the menopause, and in people of South Asian or sub-Saharan African origin [4]. Inherited high cholesterol affects about 1 in 311 people worldwide [9], and raised lipoprotein(a) at least 20 percent of the population [3]. Comparable figures for much of the world were not available.
Both inheritance and everyday circumstances play a part [10]. A gene is an instruction inside a cell, and inheriting one means receiving a copy from a parent.
Primary causes are inherited and present from birth. Inherited high cholesterol is the best known, and lipoprotein(a) level is largely inherited [3,9].
Secondary causes come from something else going on in the body, or from a medicine. English guidance names the common ones to look for: drinking a lot of alcohol, diabetes that is not well controlled, an under-active thyroid, liver disease, and nephrotic syndrome, a kidney problem in which protein leaks into the urine [2]. Some prescribed medicines raise levels too, including certain medicines that damp down the immune system [2]. Nobody should stop a prescribed medicine on their own.
A diet high in saturated and trans fat, little physical activity, smoking, type 2 diabetes and carrying extra weight are all linked to higher levels [9]. None of this is anyone’s fault. A family history makes raised cholesterol more likely in relatives [9].
For almost everyone, none. High cholesterol does not usually cause symptoms, and a blood test is the only way to find it [4]. People are not diagnosed because they feel unwell. They are diagnosed because someone tested them.
Over years, too much cholesterol can block blood vessels and make heart problems or a stroke more likely [4,10]. Those events have symptoms. The lipid level itself does not.
When to seek urgent help. Raised lipid levels are not an emergency in themselves. What they raise the risk of can be [4,10]. Anyone with sudden chest pain, weakness or numbness on one side of the body, a drooping face, or sudden difficulty speaking should call emergency services straight away.
With a blood test, usually arranged in primary care, called a lipid profile or lipid panel [8].
What the panel measures. The laboratory measures total cholesterol, HDL cholesterol and triglycerides, then calculates non-HDL cholesterol and LDL cholesterol [2]. Non-HDL is total cholesterol minus HDL [5]. LDL comes from a formula, and may not be reported at all when triglycerides are high [2].
Do I need to fast? Practice differs. English guidance does not require a fasting sample, and the United Kingdom’s health service says eating beforehand makes little difference [2,5]. United States guidance says a person may need to avoid food and drink for 8 to 12 hours [8].
Why non-HDL cholesterol and ApoB are used more than they were. Non-HDL captures the cholesterol carried by every particle that can deposit in an artery wall. English guidance uses it as the prevention target, aiming for a reduction of more than 40 percent, and the 2026 United States guideline brought both LDL and non-HDL goals back to guide treatment [1,2]. ApoB is a protein carried on those particles [3], and measuring it helps once those goals are met, since it can reveal risk the standard panel underestimates [1].
Why one number is not the answer. A care team weighs the lipid results alongside age, sex, blood pressure, smoking, other conditions and family history, and estimates the overall risk of a heart or circulation problem [5,8]. England uses a tool called QRISK3, and a 10-year risk of 10 percent or more is usually the point at which treatment is offered [2]. The 2026 United States guideline uses newer equations called PREVENT [1], and European guidance says plainly that risk is a continuum and the cut-off points are in part arbitrary [3].
Why it can take years. Diagnosis is often late because there is nothing to feel, so most healthy adults are advised to have a check every 4 to 6 years [8].
Treatment follows the estimated risk rather than a single threshold. Two people with the same LDL number can be offered different things, because the rest of their picture differs [1,2].
Food, activity and smoking. Guidelines put these first, as something to work out with a clinician or dietitian. The direction is less saturated fat, more unsaturated fat such as olive or rapeseed oil, and a pattern built around wholegrains, vegetables, fruit and fish [2,3]. English guidance asks for a mix of aerobic and muscle-strengthening activity, and says anyone unable to manage moderate activity should work at their own safe capacity [2]. Lipid levels are not a verdict on how someone has lived.
Statins. The usual first medicine, reducing the cholesterol the body makes, one tablet a day taken long term [6]. English guidance offers atorvastatin 20 mg where the 10-year risk is 10 percent or more, and 80 mg to people who already have heart or circulation disease [2]. On muscle pain: about 16 percent of people on a high-intensity statin reported it, and only around 1 in 12 of those cases were likely caused by the statin [2].
Other treatments. Ezetimibe reduces the cholesterol absorbed from food and lowers LDL by around 20 percent [2,3]. Bempedoic acid works by a different route, and muscle side effects matched placebo in trials; it cut major heart and circulation events by 13 percent in a trial of 13,970 people [3]. Alirocumab, evolocumab and inclisiran are injections aimed at a protein called PCSK9, lowering LDL by around 50 to 60 percent [3].
Availability, and whether there is a cure. There is no cure. Treatment lowers risk rather than removing it, and statins are usually taken for life [6]. Which medicines are available differs a great deal between countries, and at least one lipid medicine is authorized in Europe without being approved in the United States [3].
For most people this is a number followed over years alongside blood pressure and weight, not an illness that interrupts daily life. English guidance asks for liver enzymes and a lipid profile 2 to 3 months after starting or changing treatment [2]. Those appointments are the place to raise side effects rather than quietly stopping a tablet. Statins are not taken in pregnancy, and guidance says to stop three months before trying to conceive [2]. Where an inherited cause is suspected, relatives are usually advised to have their own blood test [2,9]. Many people find the absence of symptoms the hardest part to hold on to.
Clinical trials test whether a treatment works and is safe. Deciding whether to look into one is personal, and it helps to take it in steps.
It is worth being clear on what a study involves:
Every trial has rules about who can take part, called eligibility criteria. For a lipid study they might include an LDL, non-HDL or triglyceride level inside a set range, a stable dose of existing treatment beforehand, a documented reason for not tolerating statins, or a confirmed genetic result.
trialport’s medifit helps people consider information related to possible medical suitability. It does not diagnose a condition, confirm eligibility or replace formal screening by the study team.
Explore dyslipidemia clinical trials through trialport
A study can look right on paper and still be hard in practice. Worth thinking through:
trialport’s readifit helps people reflect on their understanding, motivation, time, routines, support, emotions and practical arrangements.
Useful questions to put to a research team:
Taking part is voluntary. A person can ask questions, speak with people they trust and choose not to participate.
Search for clinical trials at app.trialport.com.
Study status checked: 3 August 2026. Research moves quickly and what is being studied changes, so this list will date. For current information, search at app.trialport.com.
In the United Kingdom, the NHS pages on high cholesterol explain testing, the numbers and the medicines used [4,5,6], and HEART UK, the national cholesterol charity, has a clear page on reading test results [13].
In the United States, the CDC cholesterol section covers testing, risk factors and treatment plainly [7,8,9], and the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute explains what cholesterol is [10]. For the source documents, see the 2026 United States guideline summary [1], NICE guideline NG238 [2] and the 2025 European focused update [3].
Coverage elsewhere is thin. Where no local organization exists, a national heart association or the treating clinic is the best starting point.
Is dyslipidemia the same as high cholesterol?
Not quite. High cholesterol is the commonest form of it. Dyslipidemia is the wider term, covering raised LDL, low HDL, raised triglycerides and raised lipoprotein(a), alone or together [1,10].
Why does my result show non-HDL cholesterol instead of LDL?
LDL is calculated rather than measured, and the formula becomes unreliable when triglycerides are high. Non-HDL is total cholesterol minus HDL [2,5].
Will I be on a statin for life?
Usually yes, since the benefit comes from keeping levels lower over years [6].
Does a normal cholesterol result mean my heart is fine?
No. Treatment decisions rest on overall risk, which includes age, blood pressure, smoking, diabetes and family history as well as the lipid numbers [1,5,8].
Should my family be tested?
Possibly. A family history, or an early heart attack in a close relative, is a reason to ask the care team [2,9].
Written by: trialport editorial team
Reviewed by: Keith Berelowitz, Founder and CEO, trialport
Reviewed on: 3 August 2026
Next review due: 3 August 2027
References last checked: 3 August 2026