Cholesterol ratio calculator
The total-to-HDL cholesterol ratio divides total cholesterol by HDL cholesterol. It is used alongside individual values because it captures the balance between them, and it predicts cardiovascular risk better than total cholesterol alone. A ratio below 3.5 is generally considered good and above 5 is considered raised. Cholesterol changes measurably around the final menstrual period, independent of ageing, which is why this is worth measuring in the transition.
Total and LDL cholesterol rise around the final menstrual period, and studies that follow the same women through the transition find the change clusters there rather than tracking age smoothly. Estrogen increases the liver's LDL receptors, which clear LDL from the blood; fewer receptors means slower clearance.
The ratio is useful because HDL concentration can hold steady after menopause while its functional capacity declines, so a reassuring HDL number alone can overstate how protected you are.
Enter the figures from your most recent blood test. Both must be in the same units — the calculator works with either mg/dL or mmol/L, since a ratio has no units.
Based on a published formula
Total cholesterol to HDL ratio — A standard clinical ratio. It is one input to cardiovascular risk, not a risk score: validated tools such as QRISK and the Pooled Cohort Equations also use age, blood pressure, smoking and diabetes.
Read more on this
Cholesterol changes after menopause: what shifts and why
Heart disease risk after menopause: the change nobody feels
Blood pressure after menopause: why it starts to climb
Sources
- National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute — Blood cholesterol
- SWAN — Study of Women's Health Across the Nation
- The Menopause Society — patient education