Based on 1992 research by J. E. Manson published in “The New England Journal of Medicine,” low-density lipoprotein (LDL) is more highly associated with heart disease than the other transporters of cholesterol. The explanation for this goes as follows: LDL cholesterol is the main carrier of cholesterol throughout the bloodstream, making up 60 to 70 percent of the cholesterol administered to cells. As it delivers cholesterol, it leaves behind plaques in the artery walls. As the plaques accumulate, they cause the thickening of the arteries that produce all of the other heart-related conditions.
In contrast, high-density lipoprotein (HDL), or “good,” cholesterol has been demonstrated to protect against the development of coronary heart disease, according to the “Annals of Internal Medicine.” Unlike LDL cholesterol, HDL cholesterol has the function of moving cholesterol from the blood and tissues of the body to the liver where it is prepared for excretion or converted into bile acids for digestion.
Of HDL, there are two subclasses, HDL2 and HDL3, where women have a higher ratio of HDL2 to HDL3 than men. Although researchers are not certain why this difference is, they believe it has something to do with sex hormones, which according to research published in the journal, “Clinical Chemistry,” causes sex differences in HDL2 and HDL3 concentrations around the age of adolescence. This difference is important because HDL2 is viewed as more beneficial to facilitating heart health, perhaps explaining why some women have a higher mortality age than men.
Because of the significance behind the relationship between cholesterol concentrations and heart disease, the National Heart, Lung and Blood association deemed the relationship causal – that is, there is enough evidence to say higher cholesterol levels cause heart disease. The relationship is so strong that “The New England Journal of Medicine” claims a one percent reduction in cholesterol can decrease the risk of heart disease by as much as two to three percent. Therefore, it is of greatest importance to your health and the longevity of your life that you decrease cholesterol levels where possible.
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