Cholesterol Mnemonic Aids Patient Education

Article

Patients with newly diagnosed dyslipidemia often have difficulty remembering the difference between highdensity lipoprotein (HDL) and lowdensity lipoprotein (LDL) cholesterol.

Patients with newly diagnosed dyslipidemia often have difficulty remembering the difference between high-density lipoprotein (HDL) and low-density lipoprotein (LDL) cholesterol. I tell them that the “H” in HDL is for “healthy” cholesterol and that the “L” in LDL is for “lousy” cholesterol; this makes it easier to explain why an elevated level of HDL cholesterol may be good for them.

-- Barbara Harrison, PhD, FNP-BC
Rochester, Mich

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