Does HDL Matter When Statins Are Working?

Little information is available about risk for cardiovascular events in patients who are treated aggressively with statins. In particular, does HDL retain its strong prognostic value in patients with very low LDL levels? To find out, investigators from the Treating to New Targets (TNT) trial, in which 2661 participants achieved LDL cholesterol levels below 70 mg/dl (Journal Watch Cardiology Dec 30 2005), analyzed post hoc the relationship between HDL cholesterol levels and major cardiovascular events.

A total of 9770 study patients (age range, 35 to 75) with clinically evident coronary artery disease were stratified by quintile of HDL cholesterol level at 3 months of statin treatment. In multivariable analysis, HDL quintile at month 3 was a …