HDL Levels Remain Predictive of Heart Risk Even in the Face of Very Low LDL

HDL Levels Remain Predictive of Heart Risk Even in the Face of Very Low LDL


HDL levels retain their prognostic value in patients treated with statins — even among those who achieve very low LDL levels — researchers report in the New England Journal of Medicine.


A post hoc analysis from the industry-funded Treating to New Targets study examined the predictive value of HDL levels on nearly 10,000 adults with coronary heart disease after 3 months of atorvastatin treatment.


After multivariate adjustment, the 5-year risk for major cardiovascular events was reduced by 25% among patients in the highest quintile of HDL cholesterol compared with those in the lowest quintile. Even among patients who had achieved LDL levels below 70 mg/dL, risk remained significantly reduced (by 39%) in the highest HDL quintile.


Writing in Journal Watch General Medicine, Allan S. Brett concludes: "Whether patients with both low LDL and low HDL would benefit from additional drug therapies to raise HDL cholesterol is unclear. "


NEJM article (Free abstract; full text requires subscription)



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