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LDL Cholesterol

LDL Cholesterol is also known as LDL, bad cholesterol. LDL Cholesterols formal name is low-density lipoprotein cholesterol.

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LDL Cholesterol LDL Cholesterol is also known as bad cholesterol. It is the type that is found in saturated fats that when levels in the body are too high, can cause heart disease. LDL Cholesterol Bad ? When too much LDL cholesterol circulates in the blood, it can slowly build up in the inner walls of the arteries that feed the heart and brain. Together with other substances it can form plaque, a thick, hard deposit that can clog those arteries. This condition is known as atherosclerosis. If a clot forms and blocks a narrowed artery, it can cause a heart attack or stroke.
What does LDL Cholesterol Do ? Generally, LDL transports cholesterol and triglycerides away from cells and tissues that produce more than they use, towards cells and tissues which are taking up cholesterol and triglycerides. Low density lipoprotein (LDL) refers to a class and range of lipoprotein particles, varying in their size and contents, which carry cholesterol in the blood and around the body, for use by cells. It is the final stage of VLDL (very low density lipoprotein) which is produced by the liver. The LDL contains the apoprotein B-100 (Apo B-100) among it plasma lipids. It is commonly referred to as "bad cholesterol" due to the link between high LDL levels and cardiovascular disease. LDL Cholesterols Role in disease Because LDL transports cholesterol to the arteries, increased levels are associated with atherosclerosis, and thus myocardial infarctions, strokes and peripheral vascular disease. This is why cholesterol inside LDL lipoproteins is called bad cholesterol. Still, it is not the cholesterol that is bad; it is instead how and where it is being transported, and in what amounts over time. Increasing evidence has revealed that the concentration and size of the LDL particles more powerfully relates to the degree of atherosclerosis progression than the concentration of cholesterol contained within all the LDL particles. Having low concentrations of large LDL particles is the healthy pattern. Conversely, high concentrations of small LDL particles, despite the same total cholesterol levels correlates with much faster growth of atheroma and progression of atherosclerosis. LDL is formed as VLDL lipoproteins, which lose triglyceride through the action of lipoprotein lipase (LPL), and become smaller and denser containing a higher proportion of cholesterol. A hereditary form of high LDL is familial hypercholesterolemia (FH). Increased LDL is termed hyperlipoproteinemia type II (after the dated Fredrickson classification). LDL Cholesterol Levels Over time, with more clinical research, the recommended levels keep being reduced because LDL reduction, including to abnormally low levels has been the most effective strategy for reducing cardiovascular death rates in large double blind, randomized clinical trials; far more effective than coronary angioplasty/stenting or bypass surgery.
For instance, for people with known atherosclerosis diseases, the 2004 updated American Heart Association, NIH and NCEP recommendations are for LDL levels to be lowered to less than 70 mg/dL, unspecified how much lower. It has been estimated from the results of multiple human pharmacologic LDL lowering trials that LDL should be lowered to about 50 to reduce cardiovascular event rates to near zero. For reference, from longitudinal population studies following progression of atherosclerosis related behaviors from early childhood into adulthood, it has been discovered that the usual LDL in childhood, before the
development of fatty streaks is about 35 mg/dL. However, all the above values refer to chemical measures of lipid concentration, probably not the better approach.

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