Hi Cossette,
Current "Official" standards:
Total Cholesterol:
<200 Desirable
200-239 Borderline High
240 High
LDL Cholesterol
<100 Optimal
100-129 Near Optimal/Above Optimal
130-159 Borderline High
160-189 High
>190 Very high
HDL Cholesterol
<40 Low
>60 High
Two Classs A MAJOR Risk factors:
Heart Disease, Diabetes.
Lesser MAJOR Risk Factors: 
Cigarette smoking
Hypertension (BP 140/90 mmHg or on antihypertensive medication)
Low HDL cholesterol (<40 mg/dl)*
Family history of premature CHD (CHD in male first degree relative <55 years; CHD in female first degree relative <65 years)
Age (men 45 years; women 55 years)
ps...These all come from the NIH (National Institute of Health (USA)
The whole page has a weath of information on cardiac risk:
[url]http://www.nhlbi.nih.gov/guidelines/cholesterol/atglance.htm[/url]
what is a normal level for cholesterol for a 44 year old woman 
Linear Mode
