Translating HDL Science to Clinical Practice

Abstract

It is an often-repeated axiom that high-density lipoprotein (HDL) cholesterol is protective, whereas low-density lipoprotein (LDL) cholesterol is causative, of the pathologic consequences of excess serum cholesterol, resulting in development of atherosclerotic plaques and coronary heart disease (CHD). Measurement of circulating LDL cholesterol has been well studied and correlated with CHD risk. HDL cholesterol levels, however, although correlated epidemiologically with reduction of CHD risk, have remained less-well defined as a biomarker. This Journal of Clinical Lipidology open-source eCME activity (accessed at http://multimedia.lipidjournal.com/2011/ HDL) presentation details a simple laboratory measure of the degree of risk-reduction that a given patient’s HDL cholesterol should provide, defined as the ‘‘cholesterol efflux’’ parameter. What it is, how it is calculated, and validation of its accuracy are discussed in this