[The Current Significance of Measuring HDL-Cholesterol in Cardiovascular Risk Assessment]

Area of Science:

• Cardiology
• Biochemistry
• Preventive Medicine

Background:

• High-density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL-C) is a key metric in cardiovascular risk assessment.
• Low HDL-C levels are established independent risk factors for cardiovascular diseases.
• The cardioprotective role of very high HDL-C levels is increasingly questioned.

Purpose of the Study:

• To evaluate the current significance of HDL-C measurement in cardiovascular risk assessment.
• To explore the limitations of relying solely on HDL-C levels.
• To discuss the potential of novel functional markers for HDL particles.

Main Methods:

• Review of existing clinical practices and scientific literature on HDL-C.
• Analysis of studies investigating the relationship between HDL-C levels and cardiovascular outcomes.
• Discussion of HDL particle heterogeneity and functional aspects.

Main Results:

• Low HDL-C is a recognized risk factor for cardiovascular diseases.
• Very high HDL-C levels do not always correlate with enhanced cardioprotection.
• Simple HDL-C measurement may not capture the functional integrity of HDL particles.

Conclusions:

• The direct measurement of HDL-C may be insufficient for comprehensive cardiovascular risk assessment.
• Structural heterogeneity and functional alterations of HDL particles impact their protective role.
• Future cardiovascular risk assessment may benefit from incorporating functional markers of HDL particles over traditional HDL-C levels.