Dubai, United Arab Emirates (CNN) — High-density lipoprotein (HDL) cholesterol, often referred to as the “good” cholesterol, may no longer be as useful for predicting risk and protecting against heart disease as previously believed previously. what new research funded by the National Institutes of Health (NIH) finds.
A study developed in the 1970s found that higher levels of high-density lipoprotein (HDL) cholesterol were associated with a lower risk of coronary heart disease, and this has been widely adopted and used in heart disease risk assessments. But the search at the time only included white Americans.
Now, research published Monday in the Journal of the American College of Cardiology found that lower HDL cholesterol levels were associated with an increased risk of heart attack among white adults, but not among black adults. Furthermore, higher levels of good cholesterol did not reduce the risk of cardiovascular disease in either group.
“It used to be accepted that low levels of good cholesterol were harmful, regardless of race, but our research tested these hypotheses,” Natalie Bammer, senior author of the study and associate professor of medicine at Oregon Health’s Knight Heart and Vascular Institute. & Science University of Portland, said in a news release. And she continued: “This means that in the future the doctor will not pat us on the back because we have high levels of good cholesterol.”
For the study, the researchers drew on data from thousands of people enrolled in the Causes of Geographical and Racial Differences in Stroke (REGARDS) group. Participants were at least 45 years old when they enrolled in the program between 2003 and 2007. Their health was analyzed for an average of 10 years.
The researchers found that higher levels of low-density lipoprotein (LDL) cholesterol and a “modest” triglyceride level predicted heart disease risk among both white and black adults.
But they say more work is needed to understand the reasons for the racial differences linking HDL and heart disease risk.
Currently, current clinical assessments of heart disease risk “may miscategorize risk in dark-skinned adults, which may prevent optimal cardiovascular disease prevention and management programs for this group.”
Dr Tara Narula, CNN medical correspondent and co-director of the Lenox Hill Women’s Heart Program, said the study “highlights the urgent need for more research on race and ethnicity and that there is no one-size-fits-all approach. .. Furthermore, this research confirms that there is an ongoing need for education that high HDL levels are not free and attention needs to be placed on controlling elevated LDL and other known markers of increased cardiovascular risk.
