Do Triglyceride Tests Really Help Predict Heart Disease?
July 9, 2000 — It’s one of the most common blood tests that your doctor orders — but experts still argue over its value. And now a new study suggests that in men, results from tests for triglycerides — one type of fat molecules in the blood — doesn’t give your doctor any new information about your risk of heart disease. “The current state of evidence does not justify routine screening of adults for [high triglyceride levels to predict heart disease],” the study’s lead author, Andrew L. Avins, MD, MPH, tells WebMD. “It adds little to the information we get from other sources. Our study shows there is relatively little value in obtaining triglyceride levels to assess [heart disease] risk.” He adds, however, that the study does not answer whether treating high triglyceride levels will reduce the incidence of heart disease. Avins and colleague John M. Neuhaus, PhD, both from the University of California, San Francisco, analyzed data from three large studies looking at heart attack risk
