Are Cholesterol levels in the blood a strong link to coronary artery disease (CAD) and heart attack risk?
Cholesterol levels in the blood appear to be an accurate measure of the amount of fatty plaque clogging a person’s coronary arteries. Researchers used angiograms to peer inside the coronary arteries of 2,587 men and women at 18 European medical centers. This was the first time that researchers have comprehensively linked actual cholesterol levels to the amount of coronary artery disease in such a large study. The risk of heart attack increases when total cholesterol and LDL levels are elevated, and levels of “good” HDL are low. The findings provide clear evidence that all of cholesterol – including LDL and HDL – is strongly related to the prescence and extent of coronary artery disease. Todd Fedorovich Email: tfedoro@bgnet.bgsu.
