Cholesterol: low HDL level not a risk?

The more the high density lipoprotein cholesterol, or good cholesterol as it is generally called, the less the chances of a person suffering from a cardiovascular event. In the case of the JUPITER trial, the 8,900 volunteers given 20 mg of statin drug, Rosuvastatin, per day showed reduced LDL cholesterol, and the HDL concentration had no bearing on cardiovascular risk. The authors conclude that while HDL concentration is useful as part of cardiovascular risk assessment, its level cannot be used to predict the “residual vascular risk among patients… with very low concentrations of LDL cholesterol.” The JUPITER trial found that the risk of a cardiovascular event in the dummy group was lowered by as much as 46 per cent in those volunteers who had the highest concentration of HDL compared to those who had the lowest HDL levels. “Why HDL cholesterol concentrations did not predict cardiovascular risk at very low concentrations of LDL cholesterol is unclear,” notes the Comment published along with the JUPITER trial results. The authors writing the Comment further note that when it comes to primary prevention of cardiovascular disease, the HDL cholesterol level may not predict cardiovascular risk if LDL cholesterol concentrations if less.