What do high triglycerides mean

Sleep disorders , including obstructive sleep apnea — marked by disruptive, brief pauses in breathing throughout the night — have also been associated with unfavorable lipid levels, such as elevated triglycerides and LDL cholesterol ; this may be the reason sleep apnea also increases the risk for cardiovascular disease, according to a study published in August in the journal Respirology. Interestingly, sleeping more than 10 hours per night has also been found to contribute to metabolic syndrome, including elevated triglycerides for both men and women, according to a study published in June in the journal BMC Public Health.

Sleeping too long may be a marker of poor sleep quality and is linked to fatigue and less physical activity, impacting blood lipid levels. For stress relief , Freeman recommends practicing mindful stress reduction, such as meditation or yoga, 30 minutes per day, connecting with your social support network, and engaging in 30 minutes of physical activity — that ideally gets you out of breath — every day. By subscribing you agree to the Terms of Use and Privacy Policy.

Health Topics. Health Tools. How to Manage High Triglycerides. High Cholesterol. Reviewed: April 13, Medically Reviewed. Genes As with cholesterol, abnormally high triglycerides can be inherited — a condition called familial hypertriglyceridemia. The medicines that you might take are:. Statins are used to lower LDL bad cholesterol.

Statins may also lower triglycerides. If you have both high LDL cholesterol and high triglycerides, your doctor may first prescribe statins to lower your LDL and later prescribe a medicine to lower your triglycerides. If your triglycerides are very high even after lifestyle changes, your doctor may first use medicine to lower your triglycerides to prevent damage to your pancreas.

Fibrates fibric acid derivatives should be used with caution by people who are also taking statins. There is a greater risk for a life-threatening muscle problem called rhabdomyolysis , which can lead to kidney failure. So it is important that your kidneys and liver are healthy before you take this combination of medicines.

If you have any muscle problems or pain, report it immediately to your doctor. Author: Healthwise Staff. This information does not replace the advice of a doctor. Healthwise, Incorporated, disclaims any warranty or liability for your use of this information.

Your use of this information means that you agree to the Terms of Use. Learn how we develop our content. To learn more about Healthwise, visit Healthwise. Healthwise, Healthwise for every health decision, and the Healthwise logo are trademarks of Healthwise, Incorporated. Updated visitor guidelines. You are here Home » High Triglycerides. Top of the page. Topic Overview What are triglycerides? Triglycerides are a type of fat found in your blood.

Your body uses them for energy. For a general idea about your triglycerides level, compare your test results to the following: footnote 1 Normal is less than Borderline-high is to High is to Very high is or higher. What causes high triglycerides?

High triglycerides are usually caused by other conditions, such as: Obesity. Poorly controlled diabetes. An underactive thyroid hypothyroidism.

Kidney disease. Regularly eating more calories than you burn. Drinking a lot of alcohol. These medicines include: Tamoxifen. Birth control pills. In a few cases, high triglycerides also can run in families. What are the symptoms? High triglycerides usually don't cause symptoms. How can you lower your high triglycerides? You can make diet and lifestyle changes to help lower your levels.

Lose weight and stay at a healthy weight. Limit fats and sugars in your diet. Be more active. Quit smoking. Limit alcohol. Cause The most common causes of high triglycerides are obesity and poorly controlled diabetes. But what about treating lower levels of triglycerides? Recent evidence suggests you should work to reduce triglyceride levels of they are higher than normal, especially if you have heart disease or have other risk factors such as diabetes, high blood pressure or smoking.

People with metabolic syndrome are several times more likely to have a heart attack or stroke. The risk of eventually developing diabetes is even greater. A syndrome is, by definition, a group of signs and symptoms that occur together because of an underlying condition. For metabolic syndrome, that group includes abdominal obesity as measured by waistline , high blood pressure, high blood sugar, low HDL cholesterol — and, yes, high triglyceride levels.

So as doctors have started to take metabolic syndrome more seriously, they've also started to pay more attention to triglyceride levels as one of its telltale signs.

HDL and triglycerides are metabolically connected and are often inversely related: As triglycerides go up, HDL goes down — and vice versa. But that isn't always so. People can have "isolated" high triglycerides without low HDL levels, and research is now showing that high triglycerides are an independent risk factor for cardiovascular disease, no matter what the HDL is. Many of the steps you should take to lower triglycerides are the same ones you should take to protect your heart and health overall.

If you're overweight, shed a few pounds. Get regular aerobic exercise the kind that increases your heart rate. Limit the saturated fats in meat and dairy products. Watch your alcohol intake, even moderate drinking ramps up triglyceride levels. And diet? If you're taking a statin to lower your LDL, one side benefit may be reduced triglyceride levels.