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Triglycerides
Pronounced try-GLIS-uh-rides
Triglycerides are the main form in which fat is carried in the blood and stored in the body. They are measured as part of a lipid profile, and a high level adds to cardiovascular risk.
Triglycerides are what most dietary and stored fat actually is: three fatty acids attached to a glycerol backbone. Energy taken in beyond immediate need — from fat, but also from excess carbohydrate and alcohol — is converted into triglyceride and stored. They travel in the blood inside lipoprotein particles and are reported alongside on a .
A raised level often travels in company: it is closely linked with excess weight, insulin resistance and , and the combination of high triglycerides with low HDL is a recognised metabolic pattern rather than two separate findings. Alcohol, uncontrolled blood sugar, an underactive and some medicines all raise it.
Very high levels carry a distinct and separate risk — acute pancreatitis — which is why extreme readings are treated urgently in their own right rather than only as a cardiovascular risk factor. Diet, alcohol reduction, weight and blood sugar control are the first measures; a lowers triglycerides somewhat, though it is chosen mainly for its effect on .
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Related terms
- Lipid profileLipid panel, Cholesterol testA lipid profile is a blood test that measures the fats circulating in blood: total cholesterol, LDL, HDL and triglycerides. It is used to estimate the risk of heart attack and stroke and to decide whether cholesterol-lowering treatment is worthwhile.
- CholesterolBlood lipids, Serum cholesterolCholesterol is a waxy fat the body needs to build cell walls, hormones and vitamin D. Problems come not from its presence but from the balance between the particles that deposit it in artery walls and those that carry it away.
- LDL cholesterolLDL, Low-density lipoproteinLDL cholesterol is the particle that carries cholesterol from the liver out to the tissues and deposits it in artery walls along the way. It is the number that treatment aims at, and lowering it reliably lowers the risk of heart attack and stroke.
- StatinHMG-CoA reductase inhibitor, AtorvastatinStatins are medicines that lower cholesterol by reducing how much the liver makes. They are taken to lower the long-term risk of heart attack and stroke, not to treat a symptom.
- MetabolismMetabolic rateMetabolism is the whole set of chemical reactions a body uses to turn food into energy, build tissue and clear waste. It runs constantly, and most of it happens whether a person is active or asleep.
- DiabetesDiabetes mellitus, SugarDiabetes is a condition in which blood glucose stays too high, either because the body makes too little insulin or because it has stopped responding to it. Pakistan has one of the highest rates in the world, and a large share of people with it do not yet know.
- BMIBody mass index, Quetelet indexBody mass index is weight in kilograms divided by height in metres squared, used as a rough screen for whether a person carries too much or too little weight for their frame. South Asians face weight-related risk at a lower BMI than the standard chart assumes.