To assess the impact of risk factors in patients with coronary heart disease (CHD), Rubins and colleagues examined the fasting lipid patterns of more than 8,500 men with CHD at United States Veterans Affairs Medical Centers throughout the US.¹ Among all subjects with CHD, 63% had HDL-C levels < 40 mg/dL. African-American men with CHD had significantly higher mean high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL-C) levels (45 mg/dL) than whites. These data suggest that the National Cholesterol Education Program (NCEP)² cut point of 35 mg/dL to define low HDL-C may substantially underestimate CHD risk. References

1. Rubins HB, Robins SJ, Collins D, et al. Distribution of lipids in 8,500 men with coronary artery disease. Am J Cardiol. 1995;75:1196–1201.

2. National Cholesterol Education Program. Second Report of the Expert Panel on Detection, Evaluation, and Treatment of High Blood Cholesterol in Adults (Adult Treatment Panel II). Circulation. 1994;89:1329–1445.