Apolipoproteins, friends or foes?

Frank M. Sacks, MD
Professor of Cardiovascular Disease prevention, Department of Nutrition, Harvard School of Public Health; and Professor of Medicine, Harvard Medical School and Brigham & Women's Hospital, Boston, MA, USA

Like cholesterol which circulates in blood located in VLDL, LDL, and HDL, apolipoproteins are found on each lipoprotein. Which is more important to atherosclerosis and coronary heart disease, cholesterol or apolipo - proteins? And, which apolipoproteins are harmful or helpful? The second question is much easier to answer than the first, although the literature is approaching a consensus that apolipoproteins are somewhat better predictors than cholesterol of coronary risk.

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Nonfasting triglyceride levels independently associated with incident cardiovascular events

Fasting triglyceride levels show little independent association.

The importance of triglycerides in cardiovascular risk is controversial. Triglycerides are typically determined in the fasting state, yet postprandial hypertriglyceridaemia may play an important role in atherosclerosis. This study sought to determine the association of fasting versus nonfasting triglyceride levels and risk of future cardiovascular events.