Clinical Significance

Many epidemiological investigations have demonstrated the strong and independent inverse association between HDL-Cholesterol and the risk of coronary artery disease. It has been proposed that HDL particles, through the uptake and transport of Cholesterol from peripheral tissue to the liver (reverse Cholesterol transport), protects against the development of athermatous plaques.

The guidelines issued by the National Cholesterol Education Program Adult Treatment Panel 3 (NCEP ATP 3), recommends lipoprotein analysis (total cholestrol, LDL cholesterol, HDL cholesterol and triglycerides) as the prefereed initial test, rather than screening for total cholesterol and HDL alone.

In 2001, the NCEP increased the high-risk medical decision point to <40 mg/dL. The guidelines classify HDL-C levels as follow:

1.)  <40 mg/dL as indicative of a major risk factor for coronary heart disease.
2.)  >60 mg/dL as a negative risk factor.

_{Source: Beckman Coulter Unicel, HDL IFU. REF #A15625 12/22/15}