Lowering Your Cholesterol

There is new hope on the horizon – testing for metabolic syndrome. You may recall that -metabolic syndrome can be described as a cluster of factors that put a person at risk for developing cardiovascular disease. Now a new breakthrough has occurred and doctors may soon have a test to identify well in advance those patients who are most likely to develop metabolic syndrome and further heart disease.  

Researchers at the University of Minnesota have found that people with high oxidation levels of LDL particles are more likely to develop metabolic syndrome. They measured oxidized LDL in more than 2,000 generally healthy people in the 33-45 year old age group (average age 40).  After removing those with metabolic syndrome, they followed the remaining 1,889 persons for five years. They found that those with the highest levels of oxidized LDL had 3.5 times the risk of developing metabolic syndrome five years later.

The researchers point out that if LDL particles are severely damaged, the body recognizes them and excretes them. But those minimally oxidized are not as easily recognized. The test they devised identifies minimally oxidized LDL particles, which they theorize are the ones that are most likely to be incorporated into plaque and cause health problems.