Poorva Chavan
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Written By: Poorva Chavan | Updated : May 28, 2015 10:52 AM IST
High cholesterol levels are often linked with hypertension and heart disease. And many of us start worrying if our cholesterol levels exceed the limit, but a new study says that people who have high levels of good cholesterol in their body are often protected from heart disease.
According to the study conducted at the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine, cholesterol removes fat from artery walls and people with higher levels of High Density Lipoprotein in their blood have fewer heart attacks and other disease later in life compared to those with lower levesl of HDL.
Senior author of the study, Daniel J. Rader, MD, explained that HDL function in young peiple is an indicator whther the person might suffer an heart attack or other hear t disease later in life.This finding implies that therapies that boost HDL cholesterol levels might help in reducing the heart disease. (Read: 8 warning signs of a heart attack you should know about )
How was the study conducted?
Frozen blood samples from patients with heart disease and control groups were studied to determine their HDL function. HDL function is determined by the cholesterol efflux capacity from cells. It was observed that people who had high efflux capacity scores had 36% fewer heart attacks and other symptoms of heart disease when compared to people with low efflux capacity scores.
The research is published in the Lancet Diabetes and Endocrinology.
Image source: Getty Images
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