A heart attack or stroke occurs when blood flow to an artery is completely blocked by clot from the fatty deposit. Triglycerides, along with cholesterol, can form fatty deposits that attach to the inside of blood vessels, which can clot, making it difficult for blood to pass through (atherosclerosis). Having hypertriglyceridemia increases your risk of prediabetes and type 2 diabetes, heart disease, heart attack, and stroke. Why are high triglycerides bad for you?Ībnormally elevated triglycerides indicate that your system for turning food into energy is likely not working properly. Elevated triglyceride levels, also known as hypertriglyceridemia, can be dangerous. Triglycerides serve as a flexible source of energy for the body: Either the liver can use one of triglyceride’s components (glycerol) along with amino acids to make glucose if needed, or the body can store triglycerides in fat cells to use for energy later. These are broken down and absorbed into the blood.

When you eat and drink, the body converts calories it doesn’t need to use immediately into triglycerides. Other blood lipids are high-density lipoprotein (HDL) cholesterol, low-density lipoprotein (LDL) cholesterol, and very-low-density lipoprotein (VLDL) cholesterol. Triglycerides are a type of blood lipid, or fat, that circulates in the blood.

While triglycerides may not get much attention, they can be an important indicator of health. Much like the link between cholesterol and diabetes, there is a relationship between triglyceride levels and diabetes. If you have diabetes, monitoring triglyceride levels may help you better manage your condition. Triglycerides-a type of fat that circulates in the blood along with cholesterol-can be a risk factor for developing diabetes.

Triglycerides normal range