COPENHAGEN, Denmark, Nov 13, 2008 (UPI via COMTEX) -- A Danish study suggests
high non-fasting triglyceride levels can not only increase the risk of heart
attack but also increase the risk of ischemic stroke.
Scientists from Copenhagen University Hospitals, led by Dr. Jacob Freiberg, said
the methodology used in previous studies might have missed an association
between triglycerides and ischemic stroke.
"By using levels of non-fasting rather than fasting triglycerides and by having
more statistical power than any previous study, we detected a previously
unnoticed association between linear increases in levels of non-fasting
triglycerides and stepwise increases in risk of ischemic stroke Â? ," the
researchers wrote. "Even the most recent European and North American guidelines
on stroke prevention do not recognize elevated triglyceride levels as a risk
factor for stroke.
"Our results, together with those from two previous studies, suggest that
elevated levels of non-fasting triglycerides and remnant lipoprotein cholesterol
could be considered together with elevated levels of low-density lipoprotein
cholesterol for prediction of cardiovascular risk."
The study appears in the Journal of the American Medical Association.
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