Affiliations: Department of Vascular Medicine, Academic Medical
Center, Amsterdam, The Netherlands
Note: [] Corresponding author: Erik S. G. Stroes MD PhD, University of
Amsterdam, Academic Medical Center, Department of Vascular Medicine,
Meibergdreef 9, 1105 AZ Amsterdam, The Netherlands. Fax: +31 20 5669343;
E-mail: [email protected]
Abstract: Traditional lipid measures are the cornerstone of risk assessment
and treatment goals in cardiovascular prevention. Whereas the association
between total, LDL-, HDL-cholesterol and cardiovascular disease risk has been
generally acknowledged, the rather poor capacity to distinguish between
patients who will and those who will not develop cardiovascular disease has
prompted the search for further refinement of these traditional measures. A
thorough understanding of lipid metabolism is mandatory to understand recent
developments in this area. After a brief overview of lipid metabolism we will
discuss the epidemiological data of total, LDL- and HDL-cholesterol and focus
on recent advances in measurements of these lipoproteins. In addition we will
discuss the role of triglycerides and the apolipoprotein B–A-I ratio on the
incidence of cardiovascular disease.
