When you eat extra calories — especially carbohydrates — your liver increases the production of triglycerides. If you have a high triglyceride level, your healthcare provider may have talked with you about taking steps to lower it.
This is because some lipoproteins that are rich in triglycerides also contain cholesterol. This can lead to atherosclerosis in people with high triglycerides.
A person with high triglycerides often has other risk factors for heart disease, such as age men over 45 and women over 55 , family history, a low HDL level, or diabetes. Very high levels of triglycerides are associated with inflammation of the pancreas. People who are overweight or obese often have higher than normal levels of triglycerides. All these conditions may increase your risk for developing heart disease or of having a heart attack or stroke.
Fortunately, lifestyle changes may help you manage your triglyceride levels and other risk factors for heart disease. Certain people are at higher risk for problems from high cholesterol.
They may need to use anti-cholesterol medicines along with eating a healthy diet and exercising regularly to reduce cholesterol. The major risk groups include:.
Adults who have had a heart attack or stroke, or some other atherosclerotic disease, a transient ichemic attack, stable or unstable angina, and anyone who has had a procedure such as angioplasty or bypass surgery to restore blood flow through a blocked artery. If you are otherwise in good health, one of the best ways to lower triglycerides is with regular exercise.
Choose an activity that gets your heart beating faster. Aim for an average of 40 minutes of moderate to high intensity exercise on 3 to 4 days a week.
Taking a brisk walk every day can work just as well. Having a high level of triglycerides in your blood can increase your risk of heart disease. But the same lifestyle choices that promote overall health can help lower your triglycerides, too.
When you eat, your body converts any calories it doesn't need to use right away into triglycerides. The triglycerides are stored in your fat cells. Later, hormones release triglycerides for energy between meals. If you regularly eat more calories than you burn, particularly from high-carbohydrate foods, you may have high triglycerides hypertriglyceridemia.
Your doctor will usually check for high triglycerides as part of a cholesterol test, which is sometimes called a lipid panel or lipid profile. You'll have to fast before blood can be drawn for an accurate triglyceride measurement. High triglycerides may contribute to hardening of the arteries or thickening of the artery walls arteriosclerosis — which increases the risk of stroke, heart attack and heart disease.
Extremely high triglycerides can also cause acute inflammation of the pancreas pancreatitis. High triglycerides are often a sign of other conditions that increase the risk of heart disease and stroke, including obesity and metabolic syndrome — a cluster of conditions that includes too much fat around the waist, high blood pressure, high triglycerides, high blood sugar and abnormal cholesterol levels. If healthy lifestyle changes aren't enough to control high triglycerides, your doctor might recommend:.
If your doctor prescribes medication to lower your triglycerides, take the medication as prescribed. And remember the significance of the healthy lifestyle changes you've made. Medications can help — but lifestyle matters, too. There is a problem with information submitted for this request. Sign up for free, and stay up-to-date on research advancements, health tips and current health topics, like COVID, plus expert advice on managing your health.
Error Email field is required. Error Include a valid email address. To provide you with the most relevant and helpful information and to understand which information is beneficial, we may combine your e-mail and website usage information with other information we have about you. Limit sodium and sugar. Eating fish may lower triglyceride levels. Eating at least 2 servings of fish each week is part of a heart-healthy diet. Oily fish, which contain omega-3 fatty acids, are best for your heart.
These fish include salmon, mackerel, lake trout, herring, and sardines. Fish oil supplements can also lower triglycerides. But doctors do not agree about whether these supplements can help protect your heart.
If you have very high triglycerides, your doctor may recommend you take fish oil to try to prevent pancreatitis. To reduce carbohydrate in your diet, you may want to learn about the amount of carbohydrate in various foods. Alcohol has a particularly strong effect on triglycerides. Regular, excessive use of alcohol or even a one-time drinking binge can cause a significant increase in triglycerides.
Binge drinking can cause a spike in your triglycerides that may trigger pancreatitis. Your doctor will want you either to stop or to limit the amount of alcohol you drink. Before you increase your activity, check with your doctor to be sure it is safe.
You may also want to talk with a dietitian to design a nutrition program that is right for you. Your doctor will also look for anything else that might be causing your high triglycerides, such as hypothyroidism , poorly controlled diabetes , kidney disease, or medicines.
Your doctor may adjust or stop any medicines that might raise your triglyceride level. If your triglycerides are still high after you make lifestyle changes, you may need to take medicine as well.
Whether your doctor prescribes medicine for high triglycerides depends on more than just your triglyceride number. Your doctor will also look at your cholesterol levels and other risk factors things that increase your risk for heart disease before prescribing a medicine for high triglycerides.
If you have high cholesterol and other risk factors for heart disease, you may need a combination of medicines that target the different types of cholesterol. 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. Very high blood triglycerides can increase the risk of acute pancreatitis, which is inflammation of the pancreas that causes severe pain in the abdomen.
Based on your risk factors and your personal and family health histories, your doctor may recommend testing you for high blood triglycerides with a routine blood test called a lipid panel. A lipid panel measures the total cholesterol, HDL cholesterol, LDL cholesterol , and triglyceride levels in your blood. If you are diagnosed with high blood triglycerides, your doctor may first recommend that you adopt heart-healthy lifestyle changes, such as healthy eating, which includes limiting alcohol, added sugars, and foods high in saturated or trans fats; getting regular physical activity; quitting smoking; and aiming for a healthy weight.
Your doctor may also prescribe medicines such as fibrates, omega-3 fatty acids, nicotinic acid, or statins to control or lower your triglyceride levels. Visit Triglycerides for more information about this topic. We lead or sponsor many studies on high blood triglycerides. See if you or someone you know is eligible to participate in our clinical trials. To learn more about clinical trials at the NIH Clinical Center or to talk to someone about a study that might fit your needs, call the Office of Patient Recruitment Learn more about participating in a clinical trial.
View all trials from ClinicalTrials. High Blood Triglycerides. Also known as Hypertriglyceridemia , Dyslipidemia , Lipid Disorder.
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