Oxidized LDL Predicts the Progression of Atherosclerosis and the Occurrence of Acute Coronary Events

There are several publications demonstrating the prognostic value of oxidized LDL for the progression of atherosclerosis and the occurrence of acute events. The following represent three general approaches:

Wallenfeldt et al ⁽¹⁾ in a three year longitudinal study measured the association between plasma oxidized LDL and the progress of clinically silent atherosclerosis; as measured by ultrasound in the carotid artery. Results showed that oxidized LDL significantly correlated with the number and size of plaque lesions and proved to be a strong predictor of the progression of atherosclerosis.

Meisinger et al ⁽²⁾ used two population based surveys conducted in the years 1989-1990 and 1994-1995 with follow up in 1998 to measure the association between plasma oxidized LDL and risk of acute coronary heart disease (CHD) events in men without prevalent CHD or diabetes mellitus at baseline. The mean follow up time was 5.6 years. Results showed that elevated levels of oxidized LDL are predictive of future acute (CHD) events in apparently healthy men.

Holvoet et al ⁽³⁾ measured oxidized LDL levels in 1,889 generally healthy people aged 33-45. After five years of follow up evaluation, patients in the top quintile level of oxidized LDL had 3.5 times the risk of developing metabolic-syndrome – a precursor to heart disease and type 2 diabetes. In a press release, author, Dr. David Jacobs, stated that these findings are especially important for prevention of heart disease since the participants were relatively young and free of symptoms.

​_{1) Wallenfeldt et al, Oxidized low-density lipoprotein in plasma is a prognostic marker of subclinical atherosclerosis development in clinically healthy men. Journal of Internal Medicine. 2004;256: 413-420.}

_{(2) Meisinger et al, Plasma oxidized low-density lipoprotein, a strong predictor for acute coronary heart disease events in apparently healthy, middle-aged men from the general population. Circulation. 2005;
112:651-657}

_{(3) Holvoet et al, Association between circulating low-density lipoprotein and incidence of the metabolic syndrome. JAMA. 2008; 299(19):2287-2293.}