[Hyperlipidemia and atherosclerosis: epidemiology, biochemistry and therapy]

Cardiovascular diseases cause 40% of deaths in Belgium. The coronary risk is more important in the Southern than in the Northern part of the country, owing probably to different levels of serum cholesterol due to different fat contents of the diet. The features of lipoprotein metabolism are mainly the permanent transfer of apoproteins and the dynamic exchange of neutral lipids. Atherogenic particles include remnants enriched in cholesterol esters and low density lipoproteins (LDL) after their oxidation. New European guidelines insist more on secondary prevention than on primary prevention.