Making sense of HDL cholesterol in cardiovascular risk

Lowering LDL cholesterol (LDL-C) with statins for the prevention of cardiovascular disease (CVD) has rightly become a core activity for primary care health professionals. However, despite effective lowering of LDL-C, many patients still suffer cardiovascular events. Experts have called this ‘the residual risk’ and have speculated whether further cardiovascular events can be prevented by attention to other lipoprotein fractions, particularly HDL cholesterol (HDL-C).