High levels of triglycerides — a type of fat that circulates in your bloodstream — can signal an increased risk of heart disease, but not always. It depends on why they are elevated in the first place, said Dr. James A. Underberg, a clinical assistant professor of medicine at NYU Langone Medical Center and the director of the Bellevue Hospital Lipid Clinic.
The American Heart Association sets the normal threshold for triglycerides at 150 milligrams per deciliter of blood. Some people have a genetic disorder that causes their levels to climb above 1,000, which puts them at risk for complications like pancreatitis, “but they don’t seem at risk for heart disease,” Dr. Underberg said.
While some studies cite high triglycerides as an independent risk factor for heart disease, others suggest it is hard to separate the impact of triglycerides from other factors. In a large analysis of studies published in Circulation in 2007, for example, researchers found a strong association between high triglycerides and coronary heart disease. But taking into account factors like HDL levels weakened the association between triglycerides and cardiovascular risk.
“What I tell my patients is that triglycerides themselves probably don’t cause heart disease,” Dr. Underberg said. “But for many people they can be a marker of increased risk — a warning sign
http://well.blogs./2014/05/02/ask-well-triglycerides-and-heart-disease/?_r=0
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