Reference range

• HDL cholesterol:
  • male 0.9 to 1.4 mmol/l
  • female 1.2 to 1.6 mmol/l
    
    
• total cholesterol to HDL:cholesterol ratio
  • positive cardiac risk factor if ratio 4

Patient advice (1)

• an ideal level of high-density lipoprotein (HDL) is above 1mmol/L. A lower level of HDL can increase your risk of heart disease
  
  
• your ratio of total cholesterol to HDL may also be calculated. This is your total cholesterol level divided by your HDL level. Generally, this ratio should be below four, as a higher ratio increases your risk of heart disease.

Reference:

• NHS Choices (accessed 5/4/2014). HDL - diagnosis.