Low HDL may not necessarily be a cardiovascular risk factor

Many people receive a prescription to buy Lipitor to lower their levels of harmful LDL cholesterol. However, there are relatively few effective medications for raising the beneficial HDL cholesterol, which has concerned some patients and medical professionals. Now, a new study indicates that low levels of this important substance may not actually be that dangerous.

A team of Dutch researchers analyzed the medical records of more than 50,000 adults. They reported in the Journal of Clinical Endocrinology and Metabolism that while low levels of HDL cholesterol generally correlated with an increased heart attack risk, individuals with genetic variations that caused them to have depressed HDL were at no greater risk.

The explanation of this may be that most people who have low HDL cholesterol levels also have other cardiovascular risk factors like high blood pressure or elevated LDL cholesterol. These conditions may be the true cause of heart attack risk in the majority of low-HDL individuals. Those who have genetic variations for low HDL but few other risk factors may experience no complications.

HDL cholesterol is thought to run through the bloodstream, sweeping arteries of potentially hazardous blockages of LDL cholesterol and carrying these buildups to the liver for processing.