Do high triglyceride levels cause atherosclerosis?
Whether elevated triglyceride levels in the blood lead to atherosclerosis and heart attacks is controversial. While most doctors now believe that an abnormally high triglyceride level is a risk factor for atherosclerosis, it is difficult to conclusively prove that elevated triglyceride by itself can cause atherosclerosis. However, it is increasingly recognized that elevated triglyceride is often associated with other conditions that increase the risk of atherosclerosis, including obesity, low levels of HDL- cholesterol, insulin resistance and poorly controlled diabetes mellitus, and small, dense LDL cholesterol particles. What are the causes of elevated triglyceride levels? In some people, abnormally high triglyceride levels (hypertriglyceridemia) are inherited. Examples of inherited hypertriglyceridemia disorders include mixed hypertriglyceridemia, familial hypertriglyceridemia, and familial dysbetalipoproteinemia. Hypertrigleridemia can often be caused by non-genetic factors such as
