Dubai, United Arab Emirates (CNN) — High-density lipoprotein (HDL) cholesterol, often referred to as the “good” cholesterol, may no longer be useful for predicting the risk of and protecting once morest heart disease, as previously believed. Here’s 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 was widely adopted and used in heart disease risk assessments. But the research at the time included only white Americans.
Now, research published in the Journal of the American College of Cardiology on Monday found that lower levels of HDL cholesterol were associated with an increased risk of heart attack among white adults, but not black adults. . Also, higher levels of good cholesterol did not reduce the risk of cardiovascular disease in both groups.
“It used to be accepted that low levels of good cholesterol are harmful, regardless of race, but our research tested these assumptions,” Natalie Bammer, senior author of the study and associate professor of medicine at the Knight Heart and Vascular Institute at Oregon Health & Science University in Portland, said in a press release. And she continued, “This means that in the future, the doctor will not pat us on the shoulder 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. The participants were at least 45 years old when they enrolled in the program between 2003 and 2007. Their health was analyzed over 10 years, on average.
The researchers found that higher levels of low-density lipoprotein (LDL) cholesterol and a “modest” level of triglycerides predicted the risk of heart disease among black and white adults alike.
But they say more work is needed to understand the reasons for the racial differences that link HDL and heart disease risk.
Currently, current clinical assessments of heart disease risk “may misclassify risk in dark-skinned adults, which may impede 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… In addition, this research confirms There is a continuing need for education that high levels of HDL are not free, and focus must be placed on controlling elevated LDL and other known markers of increased cardiovascular risk.”
