How cholesterol builds up in heart arteries, even when people feel fine
Low-density lipoprotein-cholesterol and subclinical coronary atherosclerosis in a middle-aged asymptomatic U.S. population: The Miami Heart Study at Baptist Health South Florida.
Not medical advice. For informational purposes only. Always consult a healthcare professional. Terms
Surprising Findings
Some people with very low LDL-C (<70 mg/dL) still had noncalcified plaque, while many with very high LDL-C (≥190 mg/dL) had no plaque at all.
This contradicts the assumption that extremely low LDL always prevents plaque, and suggests other factors may influence plaque development despite cholesterol levels.
Practical Takeaways
If you have high LDL-C (especially ≥190 mg/dL), consider discussing advanced heart imaging like CCTA with your doctor, even if you're asymptomatic and deemed low risk.
Not medical advice. For informational purposes only. Always consult a healthcare professional. Terms
Surprising Findings
Some people with very low LDL-C (<70 mg/dL) still had noncalcified plaque, while many with very high LDL-C (≥190 mg/dL) had no plaque at all.
This contradicts the assumption that extremely low LDL always prevents plaque, and suggests other factors may influence plaque development despite cholesterol levels.
Practical Takeaways
If you have high LDL-C (especially ≥190 mg/dL), consider discussing advanced heart imaging like CCTA with your doctor, even if you're asymptomatic and deemed low risk.
Publication
Journal
Atherosclerosis
Year
2024
Authors
K. Hagan, Reed Mszar, Miguel Cainzos-Achirica, M. Blaha, Michael D. Shapiro, Lara Arias, Anshul Saxena, Ricardo C. Cury, Matthew J. Budoff, T. Feldman, J. Fialkow, Sadeer G. Al-Kindi, Khurram Nasir
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Claims (5)
Even if you feel fine, your arteries might start building up plaque when your 'bad' cholesterol (LDL) hits around 50 to 60 mg/dL, and the more LDL you have, the more plaque builds up — steadily and predictably.
Even in healthy middle-aged Americans with no calcium in their heart arteries, higher 'bad' cholesterol levels are linked to more plaque buildup in the heart's blood vessels.
Even if middle-aged Americans seem healthy and have low heart disease risk, over 30% still have hidden plaque in their arteries — and most of them have a heart scan score of zero, meaning standard checkups might miss early warning signs.
Middle-aged Americans who feel fine but have high 'bad' cholesterol are more likely to have hidden heart artery plaque, especially if they already show signs of artery calcification — and those with very high cholesterol have the worst kinds of plaque.
In healthy-looking middle-aged Americans with low heart disease risk, higher 'bad' cholesterol is linked to more buildup in heart arteries — and the more cholesterol, the more common these buildups are.