Not all ‘good’ cholesterol is healthy

Astudy led by a team of researchers has now demonstrated that not all good cholesterol is healthy. The study led by the Hospital del Mar Medical Research Institute (IMIM) was published in the journal Metabolism, Clinical and Experimental.

Although drugs that lower bad cholesterol reduces cardiovascular risk, those that raise good cholesterol have not proven effective in reducing the risk of heart disease. This paradox has called into question the relationship between good cholesterol and cardiovascular risk, and researchers are now studying the characteristics of the good cholesterol particles.

HDL cholesterol (high-density lipoprotein cholesterol) or good cholesterol is associated with a decreased risk of cardiovascular disease as it transports cholesterol deposited in the arteries to the liver to be eliminated. This contrasts with the so-called bad cholesterol, LDL (lowdensity lipoprotein cholesterol), which causes cholesterol to accumulate in the arteries and increases cardiovascular risk.

Researchers from the CIBER on Cardiovascular Diseases (CIBERCV), the CIBER on Obesity and Nutrition (CIBEROBN), and the CIBER on Epidemiology and Public Health (CIBERESP), as well as others from Hospital Clinic-IDIBAPS, IDIBELL, the Hospital de la Santa Creu I Sant Pau Research Institute, and the Hospital Clinico Universitario in Zaragoza also took part in this study.

In the work, the researchers analysed genetic characteristics that determine the size of good cholesterol particles, and then studied their relationship with the risk of myocardial infarction. The conclusion is that genetic characteristics linked to the generation of large-good cholesterol particles are directly associated with a higher risk of heart attack, while features linked to small good cholesterol particles are related to a lower risk of heart attack.