Heart disease is the leading cause of death in the world. There are many causes of heart disease, but most commonly, it is due to atherosclerosis. Atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease is due to damage and blockages of blood vessels that supply oxygen to the heart. Most commonly, individuals with atherosclerosis will go through a long latent (subclinical) period without experiencing a clinical event, such as a heart attack or stroke. It is well known that low-density lipoprotein-cholesterol (LDL-C), or “bad cholesterol”, leads to atherosclerosis. Thus, measuring LDL-C helps to predict cardiovascular risk, and serves as a target for cholesterol lowering drugs. However, there are many other markers that are being studied that could provide further insight in the development of atherosclerosis and other forms of cardiovascular disease. We are interested in looking at how these markers of metabolic and cardiovascular risk relate to one another, as well as the development of subclinical and clinical cardiovascular disease. By doing so, we hope to improve our knowledge regarding the relationship between these various markers and the ability of these markers to help predict subclinical and clinical cardiovascular disease, beyond LDL-C.
