Is Low Good Cholesterol Bad If Other Fats Are Fine?
Is Isolated Low High-Density Lipoprotein Cholesterol a Cardiovascular Disease Risk Factor?: New Insights From the Framingham Offspring Study
Not medical advice. For informational purposes only. Always consult a healthcare professional. Terms
Surprising Findings
Low HDL-C by itself may not increase heart disease risk at all.
For decades, low HDL has been treated as an independent risk factor—doctors have prescribed drugs to raise it. But this study shows it only matters when paired with high LDL or triglycerides.
Practical Takeaways
Don’t panic over low HDL on your blood test—check your LDL and triglycerides first.
Not medical advice. For informational purposes only. Always consult a healthcare professional. Terms
Surprising Findings
Low HDL-C by itself may not increase heart disease risk at all.
For decades, low HDL has been treated as an independent risk factor—doctors have prescribed drugs to raise it. But this study shows it only matters when paired with high LDL or triglycerides.
Practical Takeaways
Don’t panic over low HDL on your blood test—check your LDL and triglycerides first.
Publication
Journal
Circulation: Cardiovascular Quality and Outcomes
Year
2016
Authors
J. Bartlett, I. Predazzi, Scott M. Williams, W. Bush, Yeunjung Kim, S. Havas, P. Toth, S. Fazio, Michael Miller
Related Content
Claims (7)
If an adult has both low 'good' cholesterol and high 'bad' cholesterol, their risk of heart disease is higher than if they only had low 'good' cholesterol.
If you're an adult with high 'good' cholesterol (HDL), especially when your 'bad' cholesterol and triglycerides are low, you're about 40% less likely to have heart disease compared to people with low good cholesterol — it seems high good cholesterol helps protect your heart when the rest of your lipid profile is healthy.
If someone has high 'good' cholesterol but also high 'bad' cholesterol and triglycerides, it doesn’t seem to protect their heart anymore — it’s like the good stuff loses its power when the bad stuff is too high.
Most people who have their first heart problem already had several risk factors like high blood pressure or cholesterol for years before — not just one.
If you're a healthy adult and only your 'good' cholesterol is low—but your 'bad' cholesterol and triglycerides are already low—this might not actually raise your heart disease risk much.