Blood tests for triglycerides are usually part of a lipid profile used to identify the risk of developing heart disease. If you are diabetic, it is especially important to have triglycerides measured as part of any lipid testing since triglycerides increase significantly when blood sugar is out of control.

Lipid profiles, including triglycerides, are recommended as routine tests to evaluate risk of heart disease in healthy adults. The test for triglycerides is not often ordered alone since risk of heart disease is based on cholesterol levels (see cholesterol, HDL, LDL), not triglycerides. However, if you have been found to have high triglycerides and are being treated for it, a triglyceride test may be ordered to see if treatment is working.

A normal level for fasting triglycerides is less than 150 mg/dL (1.70 mmol/L). It is unusual to have high triglycerides without also having high cholesterol. Most treatments for heart disease risk will be aimed at lowering LDL cholesterol. However, the type of treatment used to lower LDL cholesterol may differ depending on whether triglycerides are high or normal.

When triglycerides are very high (greater than 1000 mg/dL (11.30 mmol/L)), there is a risk of developing pancreatitis. Treatment to lower triglycerides should be started as soon as possible.

If you are diabetic and your blood sugar is out of control, triglycerides will be very high.

Triglycerides change dramatically in response to meals, increasing as much as 5 to10 times higher than fasting levels just a few hours after eating. Even fasting levels vary considerably day to day. Therefore modest changes in fasting triglycerides measured on different days are not considered to be abnormal.

There are studies that suggest that nonfasting triglyceride tests may be helpful in evaluating heart risks, but at the moment there are no guidelines for the practical application of these tests.