Quality, Not Quantity, of HDL Is Associated with CVD

Cholesterol efflux capacity might be a better biomarker of cardiovascular risk.

In several large clinical trials, therapies to raise high-density lipoprotein (HDL) levels have not been associated with cardiovascular risk reduction, and questions remain as to whether HDL cholesterol (HDL-c) concentration plays a causal role in cardiovascular disease (CVD). Some researchers have suggested that HDL cholesterol efflux capacity, the functional ability of HDL to accept cholesterol as part of reverse cholesterol transport, may be a more important biomarker of risk. Therefore, investigators in an industry-supported analysis assessed the association of HDL cholesterol efflux capacity and CVD in 2416 participants without baseline CVD (median age, 42; 57% women; 49% black) from the large multiethnic Dallas Heart Study.

The primary…

Reviewing Author

JoAnne M. Foody, MD

Disclosures

Consultant / Advisory boardAegerion; Amarin; Bristol-Myers Squibb; Janssen; Merck; Pfizer; Sanofi-Aventis; Boehringer Ingelheim

Leadership positions in professional societiesAmerican College of Cardiology, Cardiosmart (Co-chair)

JoAnne M. Foody, MD

Disclosures

Consultant / Advisory boardAegerion; Amarin; Bristol-Myers Squibb; Janssen; Merck; Pfizer; Sanofi-Aventis; Boehringer Ingelheim

Leadership positions in professional societiesAmerican College of Cardiology, Cardiosmart (Co-chair)

Quality, Not Quantity, of HDL Is Associated with CVD

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Reviewing Author