Word: hdl
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Dates: during 1980-1989
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...density lipoproteins), are considered "good" because, far from being killers, they may actually play a vital role in preventing heart disease. They seem to act like biological vacuum cleaners, sucking up excess cholesterol in the bloodstream. It is because the 50-odd Cincinnati families possess unusually high levels of HDL that they are believed to have such a resilient blood chemistry -- and such long lives...
Americans are acutely aware of cholesterol. During the presidential campaign, George Bush's doctor issued a medical history that included the candidate's total cholesterol and HDL levels (both well within the safe zone). Two books, Robert E. Kowalski's The 8-Week Cholesterol Cure and Dr. Kenneth H. Cooper's Controlling Cholesterol, have been major sellers this year. The shelves of the nation's grocery stores are lined with products conspicuously labeled "cholesterol free." Oat bran, which moderately lowers cholesterol levels, is selling so briskly that some manufacturers are working around the clock to meet demand. Essentially, all these...
Clinical studies suggest that cholesterol's role in this lethal process is much more complicated than previously imagined. Some scientists now believe that in certain cases of atherosclerosis, too little HDL may be as important a factor as too much LDL. On the other hand, the higher the level of HDL, the more it may aid in counteracting the effects of the bad cholesterol. This is the view of Dr. William Castelli, medical director of the Framingham Heart Study, a major research project that for the past 40 years has been following the cardiac history of residents of Framingham, Mass...
Using complex statistical analyses, the Finns ruled out every potential cause for the benefit except higher HDL levels. Says Antonio Gotto, a cholesterol expert at Baylor College of Medicine in Houston: "The garden- variety person with cardiovascular disease, maybe 60% of heart-attack patients, has a low HDL level and only a moderately high LDL level. Changing HDL levels will be very important for them...
What the Helsinki study does make clear is that treatment to lessen the risk of heart attacks should concentrate as much on raising deficient HDL levels as on lowering dangerous LDL levels. That conclusion alone could point to longer life and better health for thousands each year...