How APoB levels may change the way we predict CHD

Study suggests measuring the levels may be superior to testing for cholesterol
Clare Pain
Blood tests

Levels of apolipoprotein B (APoB) may be a better predictor of coronary heart disease risk than either low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C) or triglyceride levels, an international study suggests.

The research also helps clarify the long-debated role of triglycerides in atherosclerosis.

Commentators suggest that the UK study findings – ­drawing on DNA data from more than 600,000 people in 63 studies – might change the tests doctors rely on to establish CHD risk.

The results provide some of the first evidence that the very low-density lipoprotein (VLDL) particles that carry triglycerides are as atherogenic as low-density lipoproteins containing cholesterol.