Hormonal
High fasting serum triglyceride levels (specifically 1.6–2.5 mmol/L) are a strong, independent risk factor for ischemic heart disease (IHD), even in individuals with high HDL cholesterol levels.
If you are a middle-aged or older man, your fasting triglyceride levels matter for your heart disease risk, even if your HDL (good cholesterol) is high. A level between 1.6 and 2.5 mmol/L is associated with a significantly higher risk of heart events. This suggests that managing triglycerides (often through diet, specifically reducing refined carbohydrates and alcohol) is crucial, regardless of your HDL status.
In middle-aged and elderly white men, a high level of fasting triglycerides is a strong risk factor of IHD independent of other major risk factors, including HDL cholesterol.
Why this rating
Large prospective cohort study (n=2906) with 8-year follow-up, rigorous adjustment for confounders, but observational design limits causal inference.
Source
Triglyceride Concentration and Ischemic Heart Disease
J ørgen Jeppesen et al. · Circulation · 1998
DOI 10.1161/01.cir.97.11.1029
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