According to a recent data analysis, white adults who had too little HDL cholesterol had a higher risk of heart disease than Black people had.
A recent study raises the possibility that "good cholesterol" may not be a heart disease preventative.
According to a recent data analysis, white adults who had too little HDL cholesterol had a higher risk of heart disease than Black people had.
Since many years, medical professionals have been telling their patients that having high levels of HDL, or "good cholesterol," may protect them from heart disease. According to a recent study, having high levels of so-called "good cholesterol" does not, however, lower one's chance of having a heart attack.
That doesn't mean HDL levels aren't significant.
Researchers found that too low HDL cholesterol was associated with an increased risk of heart disease in white adults but not in Black people in a study of data from over 24,000 Americans published Monday in the Journal of the American College of Cardiology.
The researchers' initial objective was to ascertain how middle-aged Black and White adults without heart disease's future risks were impacted by their cholesterol levels. The new findings shocked the researchers. The majority of earlier studies on "good" cholesterol and heart disease involved white adults.
Experts say the most recent study, which was co-funded by the National Institutes of Health, is a part of a growing body of evidence contradicting the idea that high HDL cholesterol levels are protective against heart disease, even though patients may not always be hearing the message.
Due to fatty deposits developing in the arteries, LDL, or low density lipoprotein, raises the risk of heart attack and stroke. Because HDL carries cholesterol to the liver, where it is eliminated, it is thought to have protective properties.
Studies that show the detrimental effects of HDL levels above 80 on cardiovascular outcomes are reported often.
The findings indicate that new methods for calculating a person's risk of coronary heart disease are required, as they demonstrate a reduced risk if HDL is high.
The variances found in Black people may be related to socioeconomic rather than genetic causes, hence race must be taken into account when evaluating risks.
Healthy Cholesterol Level
Right now, the concentration should be on the overall cholesterol level. The standard unit of measurement for cholesterol is milligrammes per deciliter of blood (mg/dL). According to the American Heart Association, an adult's optimum total cholesterol level is around 150 mg/dL, with LDL levels at or below 100 mg/dL.
The American Heart Association looked more closely at the link between HDL and the risk of coronary heart disease using data from the Reasons for Geographic and Racial Differences in Stroke (REGARDS) study. The study's participants were 23,901 middle-aged Black and White REGARDS participants who were enrolled between 2003 and 2007 and who did not have heart disease at the time of enrollment.
Low HDL levels in White participants were associated with a greater risk of coronary heart disease, but not in Black participants.
Higher HDL levels are associated with lower rates of obesity, higher rates of physical activity, lower rates of smoking, and lower rates of prediabetes.
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