LDL Cholesterol Chart

Reference

Every category the guidelines use, in both units, with the rest of the panel alongside it. Categories describe populations; your own target depends on cardiovascular risk.

LDL cholesterol

Optimal
mg/dL
Under 100
mmol/L
Under 2.59
Below the goal for every risk category.
Near optimal / above optimal
mg/dL
100–129
mmol/L
2.59–3.35
At or below the goal for low and moderate risk.
Borderline high
mg/dL
130–159
mmol/L
3.36–4.13
Above the goal for anyone at high risk.
High
mg/dL
160–189
mmol/L
4.14–4.90
Treatment is usually recommended from here.
Very high
mg/dL
190 and over
mmol/L
4.91 and over
Counts as high risk on its own; consider familial hypercholesterolaemia.

LDL cholesterol categories in mg/dL and mmol/L
Category	mg/dL	mmol/L	What it means
Optimal	Under 100	Under 2.59	Below the goal for every risk category.
Near optimal / above optimal	100–129	2.59–3.35	At or below the goal for low and moderate risk.
Borderline high	130–159	3.36–4.13	Above the goal for anyone at high risk.
High	160–189	4.14–4.90	Treatment is usually recommended from here.
Very high	190 and over	4.91 and over	Counts as high risk on its own; consider familial hypercholesterolaemia.

Non-HDL cholesterol

Total cholesterol minus HDL cholesterol. It stays meaningful at any triglyceride level, which is why it is the fallback when the Friedewald equation is not valid.

Optimal
mg/dL
Under 130
mmol/L
Under 3.36
Below 30 mg/dL above the LDL goal, as the guidelines put it.
Near optimal / above optimal
mg/dL
130–159
mmol/L
3.36–4.13
Acceptable for low and moderate risk.
Borderline high
mg/dL
160–189
mmol/L
4.14–4.90
Discuss with a clinician if risk factors are present.
High
mg/dL
190–219
mmol/L
4.91–5.68
Common when triglycerides are raised; valid at any triglyceride level.
Very high
mg/dL
220 and over
mmol/L
5.69 and over
Often reflects raised triglycerides as much as raised LDL.

Non-HDL cholesterol categories in mg/dL and mmol/L
Category	mg/dL	mmol/L	What it means
Optimal	Under 130	Under 3.36	Below 30 mg/dL above the LDL goal, as the guidelines put it.
Near optimal / above optimal	130–159	3.36–4.13	Acceptable for low and moderate risk.
Borderline high	160–189	4.14–4.90	Discuss with a clinician if risk factors are present.
High	190–219	4.91–5.68	Common when triglycerides are raised; valid at any triglyceride level.
Very high	220 and over	5.69 and over	Often reflects raised triglycerides as much as raised LDL.

Total cholesterol

Desirable
mg/dL
Under 200
mmol/L
Under 5.17
The broad screening target for people without other risk factors.
Borderline high
mg/dL
200–239
mmol/L
5.17–6.20
Interpret alongside LDL and non-HDL rather than on its own.
High
mg/dL
240 and over
mmol/L
6.21 and over
Usually prompts a full lipid panel and risk assessment.

Total cholesterol categories in mg/dL and mmol/L
Category	mg/dL	mmol/L	What it means
Desirable	Under 200	Under 5.17	The broad screening target for people without other risk factors.
Borderline high	200–239	5.17–6.20	Interpret alongside LDL and non-HDL rather than on its own.
High	240 and over	6.21 and over	Usually prompts a full lipid panel and risk assessment.

Triglycerides

The measurement the Friedewald equation depends on, and the one that decides whether it can be used at all.

Normal
mg/dL
Under 150
mmol/L
Under 1.69
Fasting values in this range keep the Friedewald equation on solid ground.
Borderline high
mg/dL
150–199
mmol/L
1.69–2.25
Often lifestyle-related; repeat fasting before acting.
High
mg/dL
200–499
mmol/L
2.26–5.64
The calculated LDL becomes less reliable from here upwards.
Very high
mg/dL
500 and over
mmol/L
5.65 and over
Above 500 mg/dL (5.6 mmol/L) the priority is the triglycerides themselves.

Triglyceride categories in mg/dL and mmol/L
Category	mg/dL	mmol/L	What it means
Normal	Under 150	Under 1.69	Fasting values in this range keep the Friedewald equation on solid ground.
Borderline high	150–199	1.69–2.25	Often lifestyle-related; repeat fasting before acting.
High	200–499	2.26–5.64	The calculated LDL becomes less reliable from here upwards.
Very high	500 and over	5.65 and over	Above 500 mg/dL (5.6 mmol/L) the priority is the triglycerides themselves.

HDL cholesterol

The one measurement in the panel with sex-specific cut-points, and the only one where higher is better.

HDL cholesterol is the only measurement here with different cut-points by sex: below 40 mg/dL (1.03 mmol/L) is low in men, below 50 mg/dL (1.29 mmol/L) in women.

Low
mg/dL
Under 40
mmol/L
Under 1.03
Acceptable
mg/dL
40–59
mmol/L
1.03–1.54
High (protective)
mg/dL
60 and over
mmol/L
1.55 and over

HDL cholesterol categories in mg/dL and mmol/L, male and unspecified cut-points
Category	mg/dL	mmol/L
Low	Under 40	Under 1.03
Acceptable	40–59	1.03–1.54
High (protective)	60 and over	1.55 and over

Atherogenic index of plasma

A unitless ratio — the logarithm of triglycerides divided by HDL cholesterol, both in mmol/L. It is used in research and in some risk models, and needs no unit conversion.

Atherogenic index of plasma categories
Category	Index value
Low risk	below 0.11
Intermediate risk	0.11 to 0.21
High risk	0.21 and above

Treatment goals, not categories

The chart above describes where a value sits. What to do about it comes from cardiovascular risk, which is a different table entirely.

Very high risk
Below 55 mg/dL(1.40 mmol/L)
Also required: plus at least a 50% reduction from baseline LDL-C
High risk
Below 70 mg/dL(1.80 mmol/L)
Also required: plus at least a 50% reduction from baseline LDL-C
Moderate risk
Below 100 mg/dL(2.60 mmol/L)
Low risk
Below 116 mg/dL(3.00 mmol/L)

LDL cholesterol treatment goals by cardiovascular risk category
Risk category	LDL-C goal	Also required
Very high risk	Below 55 mg/dL(1.40 mmol/L)	plus at least a 50% reduction from baseline LDL-C
High risk	Below 70 mg/dL(1.80 mmol/L)	plus at least a 50% reduction from baseline LDL-C
Moderate risk	Below 100 mg/dL(2.60 mmol/L)	—
Low risk	Below 116 mg/dL(3.00 mmol/L)	—

Targets are population-level guidance from the 2019 ESC/EAS dyslipidaemia guidelines; the 2018 AHA/ACC guideline sets statin intensity by risk group instead of a numeric LDL-C target. Your own target is a clinical decision — this page cannot make it.

LDL cholesterol range by age

Age changes what your number means — though not in the way most people expect, and not for adults.

The adult categories above do not move with age. An LDL cholesterol of 130 mg/dL (3.4 mmol/L) is borderline high at 30 and at 80, because the Adult Treatment Panel III cut-points are fixed for all adults; unlike paediatric growth charts or blood-pressure tables they are not drawn as percentiles of your age group. A chart that rewrites these bands decade by decade is presenting numbers the guidelines do not contain.

What age genuinely changes is the goal, through risk. Age is itself a cardiovascular risk factor, so the same LDL cholesterol sits against a different target as the years pass: 100 mg/dL (2.6 mmol/L) can be above the goal for a 70-year-old with diabetes and unremarkable for a healthy 30-year-old, because the two belong to different risk categories. That is why the goals table is organised by risk rather than by age, and why the calculator on this site asks for risk category instead of a birth year.

Children and adolescents are the real exception, and they are not assessed on this chart at all. Paediatric lipid guidelines classify a child's LDL cholesterol against age-and-sex percentile tables rather than fixed adult cut-points, so an adult chart does not describe them, and a result that would worry an adult can be read differently in a child. A family history of early heart disease or of very high cholesterol is the usual reason a child's lipid panel is checked at all, and interpreting it is a conversation for a paediatrician.

For older adults, the number alone decides less rather than more. Guidelines weigh overall health, other conditions and the likely benefit of treatment alongside the LDL cholesterol result, so no age band can supply the answer that the risk category and a clinician can. If a range you have read elsewhere disagrees with this one by decade, it is a marketing table rather than a guideline.

The rest of the panel

Four measurements, four pages: the composite that stays valid when triglycerides are high, the conversion factors, the full category chart, and the equation itself.

References

1.Friedewald WT, Levy RI, Fredrickson DS. Estimation of the concentration of low-density lipoprotein cholesterol in plasma, without use of the preparative ultracentrifuge. Clin Chem. 1972;18(6):499-502. PubMed (opens in a new tab)
2.National Cholesterol Education Program (NCEP) Expert Panel. Third Report of the NCEP Expert Panel on Detection, Evaluation, and Treatment of High Blood Cholesterol in Adults (Adult Treatment Panel III), final report. Circulation. 2002;106(25):3143-3421. PubMed (opens in a new tab)
3.Grundy SM, Stone NJ, Bailey AL, et al. 2018 AHA/ACC/AACVPR/AAPA/ABC/ACPM/ADA/AGS/APhA/ASPC/NLA/PCNA Guideline on the Management of Blood Cholesterol. Circulation. 2019;139(25):e1082-e1143. PubMed (opens in a new tab)
4.Mach F, Baigent C, Catapano AL, et al. 2019 ESC/EAS Guidelines for the management of dyslipidaemias: lipid modification to reduce cardiovascular risk. Eur Heart J. 2020;41(1):111-188. PubMed (opens in a new tab)
5.Martin SS, Blaha MJ, Elshazly MB, et al. Comparison of a novel method vs the Friedewald equation for estimating low-density lipoprotein cholesterol levels from the standard lipid profile. JAMA. 2013;310(19):2061-2068. PubMed (opens in a new tab)
6.Sampson M, Ling C, Sun Q, et al. A new equation for calculation of low-density lipoprotein cholesterol in patients with normolipidemia and/or hypertriglyceridemia. JAMA Cardiol. 2020;5(5):540-548. PubMed (opens in a new tab)
7.Dobiášová M, Frohlich J. The plasma parameter log (TG/HDL-C) as an atherogenic index: correlation with lipoprotein particle size and esterification rate in apoB-lipoprotein-depleted plasma (FER(HDL)). Clin Biochem. 2001;34(7):583-588. PubMed (opens in a new tab)

Content last reviewed 16 September 2026.Every cut-point and formula on this page is taken from the sources above.

Put your own numbers in the chart.

The calculator works out LDL cholesterol, the rest of the panel, and which category each value lands in — then tells you when the equation should not be trusted.

Calculate LDL cholesterol How the equation works