When your body doesn’t respond well to insulin (like in prediabetes), it makes more of the bad, tiny, sticky cholesterol particles that clog arteries.

Tiny, dense cholesterol particles stick around longer in the blood and slip more easily into artery walls, where they get damaged and trigger inflammation that leads to clogged arteries.

Low-density lipoprotein (LDL) functions as a transport particle that delivers cholesterol and other essential lipids to peripheral tissues via the bloodstream.

Most of the 'bad' particles in your blood that can lead to heart disease are LDL, not the other kind (VLDL), because there are way more LDL particles floating around—even if you have high triglycerides.

Saturated fat raises LDL cholesterol, but mostly the 'bigger, fluffier' kind that doesn't clog arteries as much as the small, sticky kind.

Chronic exposure to elevated LDL particles is causally associated with increased risk of atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease through endothelial infiltration and initiation of arterial inflammation.