Increased triglyceride concentration in the blood | What you need to know

Triglyceride levels, along with arterial hypertension and cholesterol levels, are an important parameter for the state of cardiovascular diseases. An increase in the concentration of triglycerides in the blood indicates a significant increase in the risk of heart and vascular diseases.

What are triglycerides?

Triglycerides are a form of fat that we get from food. Excess calories, alcohol, and sugar are converted into triglycerides, which are stored in fat cells and broken down when needed to produce energy.

Triglycerides are a source of energy in the body.

Increased triglyceride concentrations occur in isolation or in combination with other lipid metabolism disorders.

Increased triglyceride concentrations lead to an increased risk of developing cardiovascular diseases, as well as pancreatitis and metabolic syndrome.

What is cholesterol?

Cholesterol is a waxy, fat-like substance found in every cell in the body. It is used to make hormones, vitamin D, and some substances involved in the digestion of food.

Chronically elevated cholesterol levels in the blood are associated with thickening of the artery walls – arteriosclerosis, which ultimately causes coronary heart disease, strokes, and heart attacks.

What are HDL, LDL, VLDL?

HD (high-density lipoprotein), LDL (low-density lipoprotein) and VLDL (very low-density lipoprotein) are protein-lipid complexes circulating in the blood that have different functions:

• HDL high-density lipoproteins are known as "good" lipids that help the body remove excess cholesterol.
• LDL low-density lipoproteins – belong to the “bad” lipids, the excess of which contributes to the formation of lipid plaques on the walls of blood vessels.
•  VLDL Very low density lipoproteins are also considered “bad” lipids, as their excess also contributes to the formation of lipid plaques on the walls of blood vessels. VLDL mainly contains triglycerides, while LDL contains cholesterol.

Triglycerides and high-density lipoproteins are inversely related to each other: the higher the triglycerides, the lower the HDL high-density lipoproteins, and vice versa.

Normal and high triglyceride levels

<150 mg/dL – optimal

150-199 mg/dL – Moderate elevation

200-499 mg/dL – Elevated

≥500 mg/dL – Very elevated

For young people aged 10-19, the normal triglyceride level is no more than 90 mg/dL. In adults, the normal level is no more than 150 mg/dL.

Triglyceride levels of 1,500 mg/dL are extremely high and significantly increase the risk of developing acute pancreatitis. Over time, this condition can lead to fatty degeneration of the liver and other organs and serious metabolic disorders.

Excess triglycerides are often associated with an excess of low-density lipoproteins and a deficiency of high-density lipoproteins, which is often accompanied by arterial hypertension, diabetes, obesity, cardiovascular complications, and other pathologies.

Causes of excess triglycerides:

• Excessive alcohol consumption
• uncontrolled diabetes
• Unbalanced diet
• Liver diseases
• Kidney diseases
• Inflammatory diseases: e.g. rheumatoid arthritis
• Hypothyroidism
• Long-term use of diuretics, hormones, corticosteroids, beta-blockers
• Obesity – body mass index over 25
• Tobacco consumption
• Lack of physical activity
• Age

Symptoms of high triglycerides

Like hypercholesterolemia, high triglycerides are virtually asymptomatic until complications develop.

Diseases associated with excess triglycerides:

• Cardiovascular diseases

1. Carotid artery diseases
2. Coronary heart disease
3. Metabolic syndrome (a combination of high blood pressure, diabetes, and obesity)
4. Peripheral artery diseases (PAD)
5. Atherosclerosis
6. stroke
7. heart attack

• Pancreatitis
• Fatty liver
• Kidney failure
• Acute hepatitis
• dementia
• Type 2 diabetes
• Hypothyroidism

High triglyceride levels are a side effect of some medications, such as:

• diuretics
• Estrogen and progesterone
• Retinoids
• Steroids
• beta-blockers
• Immunosuppressants
• AIDS treatment medications

Recommended studies

When detecting elevated triglyceride levels, it is necessary to conduct complex examinations:

Lipid profile – which includes the study of all lipids, as well as the determination of the atherogenic index. According to the recommendations of the American Heart Association, people over the age of 20 should regularly examine the lipid spectrum at least once a year. In older patients – with a diagnostics of diabetes, obesity, or metabolic syndrome, more frequent research is required.

Treatment

Elevated levels of triglycerides and other lipids in the blood indicate the need for lifestyle and dietary changes, as these factors significantly affect the outcome of treatment.

A medical treatment plan is established by a specialist doctor based on instrumental, laboratory, and anamnestic data.

"Synevo" offers laboratory tests for diagnosing lipid metabolism disorders that you can book online:

The time for issuing research results is not absolute, it can change taking into account various factors

Source: https://www.synevo.ro/trigliceride-marite/

n.manjaparashvili@synevo.ge