High cholesterol levels cause no symptoms but are a major risk factor for heart disease, stroke and dementia. Checking your cholesterol levels regularly is one of the most important things you can to stay healthy in the long-term.

You're never too young to take a cholesterol blood test. 1 in 200 of us have a genetic condition that causes high cholesterol from a young age.

But even without this, 1-in-4 adults under 40 have high cholesterol levels.

You should take a cholesterol blood test every year to track your levels over time. If you see your cholesterol levels creeping up little-by-little every year, it's a sign that you need to make changes to your lifestyle to stop your levels getting high.

Keeping your cholesterol levels low is one of the most important things you can do to stay healthy in the long-term. High cholesterol levels are a major risk factor for heart disease, stroke and dementia.

High cholesterol levels won't give you symptoms so taking a cholesterol blood test is the only way to know your levels and optimise your health.

Your cholesterol blood test includes a few biomakers collectively called your "lipid profile". The most important biomarkers are your triglycerides, LDL-cholesterol, non-HDL cholesterol and HDL-cholesterol. The normal ranges for your cholesterol blood test are:

Your cholesterol levels are affected by your diet, weight, exercise, sleep, stress and your genes. All other things being equal, your choleserol levels will only tend to go up as you get older. You can't affect your genes but you can affect all the other factors. If you see your cholesterol levels creeping up over time, it's a sign that you need to make changes to your lifestyle to stop your levels getting high.