Loading...
Original paper

Low-density lipoproteins cause atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease. 1. Evidence from genetic, epidemiologic, and clinical studies. A consensus statement from the European Atherosclerosis Society Consensus Panel

Authors: Brian A. Ference, Henry N. Ginsberg, Ian Graham, Kausik K. Ray, Chris J. Packard, Eric Bruckert, Robert A. Hegele, Ronald M. Krauss, Frederick J. Raal, Heribert Schunkert, Gerald F. Watts, Jan Borén, Sergio Fazio, Jay D. Horton, Luis Masana, Stephen J. Nicholls, Børge G. Nordestgaard, Bart van de Sluis, Marja-Riitta Taskinen, Lale Tokgözoğlu, Ulf Landmesser, Ulrich Laufs, Olov Wiklund, Jane K. Stock, M. John Chapman, Alberico L. Catapano

DOI: 10.1093/eurheartj/ehx144

Publication date: March 8, 2017

Keywords: Cardiology and Cardiovascular Medicine

During the 85th EAS congress in Prague, the European Atherosclerosis Society (EAS) announced the publication of a new Consensus Statement, which confirms the causal role of LDL-cholesterol (LDL-C) in the development of atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease.

The consensus panel states that „consistent evidence from numerous and multiple different types of clinical and genetic studies unequivocally establishes that LDL causes ASCVD“. The conclusion of the panel was based on a meta-analysis of more than 200 prospective cohort studies, Mendelian randomization studies and randomized controlled trials, including in total over 2 million participants and more than 20 million person-years of follow-up and over 150 000 cardiovascular events.

With the new consensus statement, it has been confirmed that LDL is not only a biomarker, but a causal factor for CVD. There is a consistent dose-dependent log-linear association between LDL C levels and cardiovascular risk, thus it is of key importance to minimize the cumulative exposure to LDL. Lowering LDL cholesterol starting in early life will be a major opportunity to reduce the lifetime risk of a cardiovascular event.

With this message, the pivotal role of a healthy diet and lifestyle will further move to the focus of early prevention, since it is the only strategy that can be safely implemented on a population level from early life.