Triglycerides: risk factor or fellow traveler?
An unresolved issue in preventive cardiology is whether the serum triglyceride level is an independent risk factor for coronary heart disease and, as a direct practical consequence, whether it has value as a diagnostic test. Evidence published in the past year has contributed substantially to clarifying these issues. In this review, we discuss the data that bears upon the importance of triglycerides as a risk factor and the implications of recent clinical trials directed at lipid lowering. We then discuss the alternatives for triglyceride lowering therapy in the light of this new knowledge.
Forrester
J S
JS
Division of Cardiology, Cedars-Sinai Medical Center, Los Angeles, California 90048, USA. forrester@cshs.org
D002986:Clinical Trials as Topic; D003324:Coronary Artery Disease / Q000097:blood / Q000209:etiology* / Q000517:prevention & control; D006801:Humans; D015228:Hypertriglyceridemia / Q000097:blood / Q000150:complications* / Q000188:drug therapy; D000960:Hypolipidemic Agents / Q000627:therapeutic use; D008019:Life Style; D012307:Risk Factors; D014280:Triglycerides / Q000097:blood*
D000960:Hypolipidemic Agents; D014280:Triglycerides