Cholesterol ratio calculator: compute total cholesterol to HDL, LDL to HDL, and triglyceride ratios from your lab panel. Free, private, runs in your browser.
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General estimate for planning only — not medical advice. Consult a doctor about your specific situation.
Calculation details
Every figure above is calculated locally in your browser from the assumptions shown. No inputs are sent anywhere. See the methodology section below for the formulas used.
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Assumptions to Verify
These tools provide general estimates for planning and education only.
They are not medical advice and not a substitute for a qualified healthcare professional.
Always consult your doctor or another healthcare provider about your specific situation.
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A worked example, step by step
Take a common lab panel: total cholesterol 200 mg/dL, HDL 50 mg/dL, LDL 130 mg/dL. The primary ratio divides total by HDL: 200 / 50 = 4.0. At 4.0 the calculator labels the result 'good but improvable', because the reading sits in the 3.5 to 4.9 band, above the 3.5 optimal line but below the 5.0 high threshold.
The secondary ratio uses LDL: 130 / 50 = 2.6. That falls in the 2.0 to 2.9 band, so it reads 'good'. Note what happens if the same person had LDL left blank: the calculator skips the second ratio entirely rather than treating 0 as a real reading, since 0 mg/dL LDL is not a plausible lab value.
Change one input and watch the sensitivity. If HDL rises from 50 to 55 with total still 200, the primary ratio drops from 4.0 to 3.6, nearly a full band improvement from raising one number. If total rises to 240 with HDL unchanged, the ratio becomes 4.8, still in the same band but close to the 5.0 cutoff. Two inputs, four possible directions of movement, one arithmetic step each: that is the whole model.
Where the ratios break down
Both ratios inherit mg/dL units from US lab reports. A UK or European panel reports mmol/L, where a typical total cholesterol reads 5.2 instead of 200. Dividing total by HDL is unit-free, so the ratio itself survives the conversion, but anyone comparing their ratio to published mg/dL thresholds while entering mmol/L values gets a nonsense result near 0.1. Convert first: multiply mmol/L by 38.67 for cholesterol.
Triglycerides are absent from this calculator by design, and that hides one edge case. A person with total 180, HDL 35, and LDL 90 scores a ratio of 5.1 (high), yet the picture is different from someone at 280 total with the same 5.1 ratio. Non-HDL cholesterol, total minus HDL, adds context the two-ratio model cannot: 145 versus 245 for those same cases.
Very high HDL is a known distortion. Studies of families with HDL above 90 mg/dL found no added cardiovascular protection despite excellent ratios, so a ratio of 2.0 driven by HDL 100 is not automatically reassuring. The ratios also assume a fasting-accurate panel; a non-fasting draw shifts triglycerides and, with them, the calculated LDL figure by 5 to 10 percent.
