Rader - Figure 7 - Does efflux capacity correlate with CVD? Text

The next question was whether this measure of HDL “efflux capacity” was a biomarker that correlates with atherosclerotic CVD burden. To assess this we carried out 2 studies:

• one study was performed in a group of basically healthy individuals who had their carotid intimal medial thickness (cIMT) measured; this is a measure of atherosclerotic disease that has been widely used in research.
• the second group consisted of individuals who had undergone coronary angiography and consequently were found either to have coronary angiographic disease (CAD) or to be, in effect, controls – ie, have “clean” coronary arteries.

The question in both studies was, Is “cholesterol efflux capacity” associated with severity of disease, as assessed by either cIMT or coronary angiography?

Rader D. J Clin Lipidol. 2011; 5(6).