Definitions for "High-density lipoprotein cholesterol"
A plasma lipid protein complex containing relatively more protein and less cholesterol and triglycerides.
The so-called good cholesterol. Cholesterol travels in the blood combined with protein in packages called lipoproteins. HDL is thought to carry cholesterol away from other parts of the body back to the liver for removal from the body. A low level of HDL increases the risk for coronary heart disease, whereas a high HDL level is protective.
A class of lipoproteins frequently divided into HDL2 and HDL3, and the minor variant, HDL. HDL promotes transport of cholesterol from extrahepatic tissue to the liver for excretion in the file. HDL also shuttles apolipoproteins C-II and E to and from triglyceride-rich lipoproteins during catabolism of the lipoproteins.