Non-HDL cholesterol calculator
All the cholesterol in your blood except HDL. It is total cholesterol minus HDL, and it counts every particle that can build up in artery walls. Type your results in the units on your report and it works out Non-HDL-C as you type, in your browser.
AI-verified against cited sources. Awaiting expert reviewLast reviewed 2026-10-03Heart & Cholesterol
Type your results above, or fill in the example, to see Non-HDL-C.
Nothing you type here leaves your browser.
Educational information, not medical advice. Blood Test Tracker doesn’t diagnose or treat, and it doesn’t replace your clinician. Talk with your clinician before changing medications, supplements or care.
How it’s worked out
The formula
Non-HDL-C (mg/dL) = Total cholesterol (mg/dL) - HDL-C (mg/dL). The same subtraction works in mmol/L when both values use the same unit.
When the equation works
Outside these limits the calculator says so instead of giving a number.
- HDL has to be lower than total cholesterol. When it isn’t, the units are usually mixed up.
A worked example
Example numbers, not anyone’s real results, run through the same code as the calculator above.
| Total Cholesterol | 200 mg/dL |
|---|---|
| HDL | 50 mg/dL |
| Non-HDL-C | 150 mg/dL |
For an adult, this result is above the usual range.
What Non-HDL-C tells you
Non-HDL cholesterol is all the cholesterol in your blood except the protective HDL kind. That includes LDL, VLDL and other particles that can leave cholesterol in artery walls. Labs do not measure it on its own. They subtract your HDL from your total cholesterol. It needs no extra test, it still works when triglycerides are high, and you do not have to fast for it. That is why current US and UK guidance include it in the standard lipid panel.
Cholesterol in LDL and in triglyceride-rich particles can both build up as plaque in your arteries. Non-HDL counts all of it. Experts describe it as a stronger predictor of heart and artery disease than LDL cholesterol alone. The 2026 US guideline sets non-HDL goals that depend on your overall heart risk, and UK NHS lipid guidance also uses non-HDL cholesterol for its targets.
Read the full page on Non-HDL-C, with what a high or low result can mean.
Usual ranges
The ranges the result above is placed on. Your own lab’s printed range comes first if it gives one.
- 20+up to 129 mg/dL
Sources: Mayo Clinic Laboratories (Extended Catalog copy), Quest Diagnostics (via Fullscript), MedlinePlus (National Library of Medicine), Mayo Clinic, NHLBI / National Institutes of Health, ARUP Laboratories, Circulation (Nguyen, Ahmad, Navar), Life (MDPI), Quest Diagnostics, European Society of Cardiology / European Atherosclerosis Society, JACC: Asia, European Heart Journal (joint EAS/EFLM statement, also in Clinical Chemistry), NHS England Accelerated Access Collaborative
- 2–19up to 119 mg/dL
Sources: NHLBI / Pediatrics, Quest Diagnostics (via Fullscript), Mayo Clinic Laboratories (Extended Catalog copy), MedlinePlus (National Library of Medicine)
Sources
The equation
- Third Report of the National Cholesterol Education Program (NCEP) Expert Panel on Detection, Evaluation, and Treatment of High Blood Cholesterol in Adults (Adult Treatment Panel III): Executive Summary, NHLBI / National Institutes of Health (2001)
- 2019 ESC/EAS Guidelines for the management of dyslipidaemias: lipid modification to reduce cardiovascular risk, European Society of Cardiology / European Atherosclerosis Society (2019)
- Lipid Panel, Serum (test ID LPSC1), Mayo Clinic Laboratories (Extended Catalog copy) (2026)
- Lipid Profile Testing and Interpretation (summarizes the 2026 ACC/AHA Dyslipidemia Guideline), Circulation (Nguyen, Ahmad, Navar) (2026)
14 more sources for the ranges and the explanation
- Lipid Panel with Ratios, Quest Diagnostics (reference ranges as listed by Fullscript), Quest Diagnostics (via Fullscript)
- Lipid Panel (test 0020421), ARUP Laboratories
- Expert Panel on Integrated Guidelines for Cardiovascular Health and Risk Reduction in Children and Adolescents: Summary Report, NHLBI / Pediatrics (2011)
- 2018 AHA/ACC/AACVPR/AAPA/ABC/ACPM/ADA/AGS/APhA/ASPC/NLA/PCNA Guideline on the Management of Blood Cholesterol: Executive Summary, ACC/AHA Task Force on Clinical Practice Guidelines (2019)
- The 2026 ACC/AHA Dyslipidemia Guideline: A Critical and Transatlantic Perspective on Personalized Lipid Management, Life (MDPI) (2026)
- Understanding the new dyslipidemia guidelines, Quest Diagnostics (2026)
- Fasting is not routinely required for determination of a lipid profile: clinical and laboratory implications including flagging at desirable concentration cutpoints. A joint consensus statement from the European Atherosclerosis Society and European Federation of Clinical Chemistry and Laboratory Medicine, European Heart Journal (joint EAS/EFLM statement, also in Clinical Chemistry) (2016)
- Summary of National Guidance for Lipid Management for Primary and Secondary Prevention of CVD (version 7), NHS England Accelerated Access Collaborative (2024)
- Cholesterol Levels: MedlinePlus Medical Test, MedlinePlus (National Library of Medicine)
- Cholesterol ratio or non-HDL cholesterol: Which is most important? (read from a 2025 Internet Archive copy), Mayo Clinic
- Dyslipidemia (Hyperlipidemia), Merck Manual Professional Edition
- Cholesterol (PubChem CID 5997), PubChem (National Library of Medicine)
- Importance and Management of Non-High-Density Lipoprotein Cholesterol in Dyslipidemia Treatment, JACC: Asia (2026)
- Adult Activity: An Overview, US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
AI-verified against cited sources. Awaiting expert review. Last reviewed 2026-10-03. The calculator is version 1.0.0 of our code for this equation, tested against published examples. How we build and check these pages.