Home › Biomarkers › HDL cholesterol
According to the Hartstichting, you have a raised risk of a heart or blood vessel condition if your HDL cholesterol is lower than 1 mmol/l.[1]
On this page you can read what HDL cholesterol is, what the guidelines say about a level that is too low or too high, what affects your level and which other values are best to look at alongside it.
Also known as: the good cholesterol, HDL-c. At the lab: HDL.
HDL cholesterol is one of the types of cholesterol in your blood. It helps clear cholesterol from your blood. That is why it is sometimes called the good cholesterol.[1]
That is how it differs from LDL cholesterol. LDL particles can build up in your blood vessels. That is why LDL is called the bad cholesterol. According to the Hartstichting, HDL cholesterol does not cause hardening of your arteries.[1]
Your total cholesterol is all the cholesterol in your blood added together. Your HDL cholesterol is part of it too.[1]
A low HDL cholesterol is one of the signs the Hartstichting names for a raised risk of a heart or blood vessel condition. So it is one of the values that tell you something about your blood vessels.[1]
Your HDL cholesterol is also needed to calculate your non-HDL cholesterol. That is your total cholesterol minus your HDL cholesterol. A doctor can use that value to estimate your risk, together with your age, your sex, your blood pressure and whether you smoke.[1]
Labplusarts, the laboratory BioProfile works with, uses a reference range of 0.9 to 1.7 mmol/l for HDL cholesterol. The lab calls a value between these limits normal.[2]
| Value in mmol/l | What it can mean | Who it is for |
|---|---|---|
| HDL cholesterol lower than 1[1] | Can point to a raised risk of a heart or blood vessel condition | General threshold from the Hartstichting |
| Total cholesterol 5 or higher[1] | Can point to a raised risk of a heart or blood vessel condition | General threshold from the Hartstichting |
| LDL cholesterol 3 or higher[1] | Can point to a raised risk of a heart or blood vessel condition | General threshold from the Hartstichting |
| Triglycerides 2 or higher[1] | Can point to a raised risk of a heart or blood vessel condition | General threshold from the Hartstichting |
Source: Hartstichting, the thresholds for a raised risk of a heart or blood vessel condition, for the general public in the Netherlands.[1]
Is your HDL cholesterol lower than 1 mmol/l? According to the Hartstichting, that can point to a raised risk of a heart or blood vessel condition. A doctor also looks at your other values, your blood pressure and whether you smoke.[1]
BioProfile is working on its own zones for each value, from risk to optimal. A doctor reviews those zones before they appear in your result.
According to the Hartstichting, your cholesterol often rises as you get older. Older people therefore usually have higher cholesterol than young people. The source says this about cholesterol in general, not about HDL cholesterol on its own.[1]
In women, cholesterol levels vary more because of changes in hormones. Cholesterol rises, for example, around ovulation, when you are pregnant and during the menopause.[1]
The Hartstichting writes that you can lower your cholesterol yourself by living healthily. What that means for your HDL cholesterol itself, the source does not say separately.[1]
HDL cholesterol is included in BioProfile 77, 98, 121 and 150.[3]
The BioProfile editorial team wrote this page on 8 October 2026 from the sources below, which we read on 8 October 2026. Every number on this page appears in one of those sources, with the number of that source next to it. An expert will still review this page; after that review, the expert's name and the date of the review will appear at the top. This page offers explanation, not a diagnosis. Discuss an abnormal level with your GP.
