HDL loses power after LDL treatment
The predictive value of HDL cholesterol in detecting vascular conditions disappears following treatment-induced low levels of LDL, a new study finds.
Previous studies have reported that lowering LDL (bad cholesterol) and raising HDL (good cholesterol) is an effective treatment strategy in reducing the risk of cardiovascular events in the majority of patients.
The new study, however, voices doubt over the accuracy of the hypothesis in individuals taking statin drugs and those with very low LDL cholesterol.
According to the study published in The Lancet, the usual inverse association between HDL levels and vascular risk loses its statistical significance among patients treated with high-dose statin therapy.
"Our data should not reduce enthusiasm for measurement of HDL-cholesterol concentration as part of an initial cardiovascular risk assessment," said lead researcher Paul M. Ridker, stressing that HDL cholesterol is a powerful inverse risk predictor of cardiovascular events.
Scientists concluded that HDL cholesterol concentration cannot predict the risk of developing cardiovascular events in the setting of primary prevention and those who have low LDL levels.
"The primary focus of our treatment strategies should be reduction of LDL, and this article certainly supports that,'' said Sidney C. Smith, a past president of the American Heart Association.
Source: presstv.ir
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