LDL Cholesterol Calculator

Friedewald method · mg/dL

Estimate LDL-C from your lipid panel

Enter total cholesterol, HDL-C, and triglycerides from one eligible fasting sample. Your result includes the exact calculation so it is easy to check.

Calculated, not measured

1Enter your panelUse all three values from the same report.
2Calculate LDL-CWe apply the original Friedewald equation.
3Check the breakdownSee every subtraction behind the estimate.

Your calculated result

Educational estimate from the original Friedewald equation.

Estimated LDL-CEstimate ready

158.4 mg/dL

Calculated value — not a direct LDL-C measurement or diagnosis.

Non-HDL cholesterol183.0 mg/dL

Estimated VLDL-C24.6 mg/dL

Friedewald calculation230 − 47 − (123 ÷ 5) = 158.4 mg/dL

Total cholesterol − HDL-C − estimated VLDL-C

How the total is separated230 mg/dL total

HDL-C 47Est. VLDL-C 24.6Est. LDL-C 158.4

How to use this number

Compare it with the LDL-C and method printed on your laboratory report. Accuracy can decline as triglycerides rise or LDL-C is low. A clinician should interpret the full lipid panel and your cardiovascular risk.

Fasting lipid-panel reconstruction

A Friedewald LDL Estimate Begins with Sample Eligibility, Not Subtraction

Friedewald arithmetic estimates LDL cholesterol from total cholesterol, HDL-C, and triglycerides measured in the same eligible fasting sample. It approximates VLDL-C as triglycerides divided by five, then subtracts HDL-C and that approximation from total cholesterol. The result is predictive, not a direct LDL measurement or cardiovascular diagnosis.

Step-by-step guide · Fasting lipid-panel reconstruction

Verify the Lipid Specimen Before Applying Friedewald

Equation: LDL-C = total − HDL-C − triglycerides/5
Input unit: mg/dL from one fasting panel
Triglyceride rule: Strictly below 400 mg/dL

Keep one panel together
Use total cholesterol, HDL-C, and triglycerides from the same collection. Combining values from different dates creates a synthetic panel that never existed and can make the subtraction look valid while destroying its laboratory meaning.
Confirm the method's stated setting
The original equation was developed from fasting plasma and assumed no chylomicrons or type III hyperlipoproteinemia. This page therefore requires explicit eligibility instead of silently calculating from every set of lipid values.
Enforce the triglyceride boundary
Triglycerides must remain below 400 mg/dL for this implementation. Near that boundary, or when LDL-C is low and triglycerides are higher, Friedewald can become less accurate even before the hard exclusion is reached.

A Friedewald LDL Estimate Begins with Sample Eligibility, Not Subtraction: Friedewald arithmetic estimates LDL cholesterol from total cholesterol, HDL-C, and triglycerides measured in the same eligible fasting sample. It approximates VLDL-C as triglycerides divided by five, then subtracts HDL-C and that approximation from total cholesterol. The result is predictive, not a direct LDL measurement or cardiovascular diagnosis.

Verify the Lipid Specimen Before Applying Friedewald

Keep one panel together
Use total cholesterol, HDL-C, and triglycerides from the same collection. Combining values from different dates creates a synthetic panel that never existed and can make the subtraction look valid while destroying its laboratory meaning.
Confirm the method's stated setting
The original equation was developed from fasting plasma and assumed no chylomicrons or type III hyperlipoproteinemia. This page therefore requires explicit eligibility instead of silently calculating from every set of lipid values.
Enforce the triglyceride boundary
Triglycerides must remain below 400 mg/dL for this implementation. Near that boundary, or when LDL-C is low and triglycerides are higher, Friedewald can become less accurate even before the hard exclusion is reached.

Distinguish Estimated LDL-C from the Other Lipid Outputs

Non-HDL cholesterol

Total cholesterol minus HDL-C is shown as a separate arithmetic result. It includes cholesterol carried by several atherogenic particle classes; it is not another name for calculated LDL-C.

Approximated VLDL-C

Triglycerides divided by five is the historical mg/dL proxy used inside Friedewald. It is not a measured VLDL result, and its assumptions are a major reason the method's scope matters.

Laboratory LDL-C

A report may use Friedewald, a newer predictive equation, or a direct assay. NCHS comparisons show that equation choice changes estimates. Preserve the report's named method before comparing your reconstructed value with its LDL-C line.

Use an LDL Reconstruction to Ask Why Two Reports Differ

A productive comparison includes collection date, fasting status, all three source values, units, triglyceride level, reported LDL-C, and the laboratory's calculation or assay method. Small discrepancies may reflect display rounding. Larger ones may reflect a different equation, a direct method, ineligible sample conditions, or a transcription error.

Do not turn the reconstructed result into a treatment threshold by itself. The ASCVD risk calculator addresses a defined risk-model question, while the A1C-to-eAG converter translates a separate glycemic marker. A clinician may consider these and many other factors, but neither validates Friedewald eligibility.

Keep Food Planning Separate from Lipid Interpretation

The macro planning calculator can organize a hypothetical carbohydrate, fat, and protein split; it cannot prescribe a diet for an abnormal lipid panel.
The waist-to-height ratio calculator supplies an anthropometric screening ratio, not an explanation for LDL-C or a substitute for laboratory follow-up.
Do not start, stop, or change a statin, supplement, or restrictive eating plan from this estimate. Review the original panel, overall risk, medical history, and possible adverse effects with a licensed professional.
If the sample was nonfasting, triglycerides are out of scope, or the report names another method, do not force a Friedewald answer merely to obtain a familiar number.

Set the Clinical Boundary Around a Calculated LDL Number

This calculator cannot diagnose a lipid disorder, determine whether treatment is indicated, identify familial hypercholesterolemia, or predict an event. It also cannot know about pregnancy, liver or kidney conditions, secondary causes, medications, family history, or prior cardiovascular disease. Those facts can change what a result means and what action is appropriate.

Its appropriate role is an audit trail: expose the subtraction, show the non-HDL and VLDL components, and flag the original method's exclusions. Bring that trail and the actual laboratory report to a clinician. If a reported LDL-C differs, ask which method the laboratory used rather than assuming that either number is universally correct.

Important limitations

LDL Cholesterol Calculator returns estimated LDL cholesterol, non-hdl cholesterol, friedewald vldl-c approximation, and equation only for the stated population, method, and source period. It is an informational calculation rather than a diagnosis, treatment plan, dosing instruction, exposure assessment, or individualized clinical recommendation.

Review the stated scope, calculation method, assumptions, supported inputs, and effective dates, and obtain qualified advice before using a high-stakes result.

This formula passed its registered engineering tests and is published under an explicit site-owner policy authorization. No independent expert, QA, editorial, legal, or third-party review is claimed. Verify consequential results with a qualified professional.

This subject may affect health, finance, tax, legal, or other consequential decisions. It has not received an independent domain-expert review; consult a qualified professional before relying on it.

Fasting lipid-panel reconstruction

A Friedewald LDL Estimate Begins with Sample Eligibility, Not Subtraction

Step-by-step guide · Fasting lipid-panel reconstruction

Verify the Lipid Specimen Before Applying Friedewald

Equation: LDL-C = total − HDL-C − triglycerides/5
Input unit: mg/dL from one fasting panel
Triglyceride rule: Strictly below 400 mg/dL

Keep one panel together
Use total cholesterol, HDL-C, and triglycerides from the same collection. Combining values from different dates creates a synthetic panel that never existed and can make the subtraction look valid while destroying its laboratory meaning.
Confirm the method's stated setting
The original equation was developed from fasting plasma and assumed no chylomicrons or type III hyperlipoproteinemia. This page therefore requires explicit eligibility instead of silently calculating from every set of lipid values.
Enforce the triglyceride boundary
Triglycerides must remain below 400 mg/dL for this implementation. Near that boundary, or when LDL-C is low and triglycerides are higher, Friedewald can become less accurate even before the hard exclusion is reached.

Verify the Lipid Specimen Before Applying Friedewald

Keep one panel together
Use total cholesterol, HDL-C, and triglycerides from the same collection. Combining values from different dates creates a synthetic panel that never existed and can make the subtraction look valid while destroying its laboratory meaning.
Confirm the method's stated setting
The original equation was developed from fasting plasma and assumed no chylomicrons or type III hyperlipoproteinemia. This page therefore requires explicit eligibility instead of silently calculating from every set of lipid values.
Enforce the triglyceride boundary
Triglycerides must remain below 400 mg/dL for this implementation. Near that boundary, or when LDL-C is low and triglycerides are higher, Friedewald can become less accurate even before the hard exclusion is reached.

Distinguish Estimated LDL-C from the Other Lipid Outputs

Non-HDL cholesterol

Total cholesterol minus HDL-C is shown as a separate arithmetic result. It includes cholesterol carried by several atherogenic particle classes; it is not another name for calculated LDL-C.

Approximated VLDL-C

Triglycerides divided by five is the historical mg/dL proxy used inside Friedewald. It is not a measured VLDL result, and its assumptions are a major reason the method's scope matters.

Laboratory LDL-C

Use an LDL Reconstruction to Ask Why Two Reports Differ

Keep Food Planning Separate from Lipid Interpretation

The macro planning calculator can organize a hypothetical carbohydrate, fat, and protein split; it cannot prescribe a diet for an abnormal lipid panel.
The waist-to-height ratio calculator supplies an anthropometric screening ratio, not an explanation for LDL-C or a substitute for laboratory follow-up.
Do not start, stop, or change a statin, supplement, or restrictive eating plan from this estimate. Review the original panel, overall risk, medical history, and possible adverse effects with a licensed professional.
If the sample was nonfasting, triglycerides are out of scope, or the report names another method, do not force a Friedewald answer merely to obtain a familiar number.

LDL Cholesterol Calculator

Estimate LDL-C from your lipid panel

Your lipid panel

Your calculated result

A Friedewald LDL Estimate Begins with Sample Eligibility, Not Subtraction

Verify the Lipid Specimen Before Applying Friedewald

Keep one panel together

Confirm the method's stated setting

Enforce the triglyceride boundary

Verify the Lipid Specimen Before Applying Friedewald

Distinguish Estimated LDL-C from the Other Lipid Outputs

Non-HDL cholesterol

Approximated VLDL-C

Laboratory LDL-C

Use an LDL Reconstruction to Ask Why Two Reports Differ

Keep Food Planning Separate from Lipid Interpretation

Set the Clinical Boundary Around a Calculated LDL Number

Important limitations

Estimate LDL-C from your lipid panel

Your lipid panel

Your calculated result

A Friedewald LDL Estimate Begins with Sample Eligibility, Not Subtraction

Verify the Lipid Specimen Before Applying Friedewald

Keep one panel together

Confirm the method's stated setting

Enforce the triglyceride boundary

Verify the Lipid Specimen Before Applying Friedewald

Distinguish Estimated LDL-C from the Other Lipid Outputs

Non-HDL cholesterol

Approximated VLDL-C

Laboratory LDL-C

Use an LDL Reconstruction to Ask Why Two Reports Differ

Keep Food Planning Separate from Lipid Interpretation

Set the Clinical Boundary Around a Calculated LDL Number