HDL or 'good' cholesterol might not make a difference to heart health, medical study suggests - Fox News

Black and White study participants reportedly had similar cholesterol levels and underlying risk factors for heart disease, including diabetes, high blood pressure and smoking. .

High-density lipoprotein has reportedly been viewed favorably, because it has been shown to absorb cholesterol in the blood and carry it back to the liver, according to the U.S.

The liver reportedly flushes cholesterol from the body, which can lower a person’s chance of heart disease and stroke if there are high HDL cholesterol levels.

Having too much cholesterol in blood can lead to cardiovascular events, such as heart attack and stroke.

Having high rates of LDL cholesterol has been associated with an increased risk of heart disease and stroke.

The new study’s analysis of the REGARDS data confirmed that high levels of LDL cholesterol and triglycerides (neutral fats) resulted in "modestly increased risks for cardiovascular disease," according to the NIH

Low levels of HDL cholesterol were found to have increased cardiovascular disease risk for White patients, but the same wasn’t true for Black patients, according to the study

At the same time, the study determined that high levels of HDL cholesterol aren’t always associated with a lower chance of cardiovascular events — regardless of racial group

Authors of the study conclude that cardiovascular disease risk calculators that utilize HDL cholesterol level readings could return an inaccurate prediction for Black patients

"HDL cholesterol has long been an enigmatic risk factor for cardiovascular disease," Sean Coady, deputy branch chief of epidemiology at the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute’s Division of Cardiovascular Sciences, wrote in a statement.