Better heart attack prediction from new cholesterol tests?
Two simple tests could someday elbow aside, or at least complement, today's standard cholesterol tests.
A multibillion-dollar industry rests on the squishy, fat-filled particle known as low-density lipoprotein (LDL), the so-called bad cholesterol. LDL is the foundation on which the current cholesterol guidelines were built. It is the focus of millions of yearly blood tests. And it is the main target of cholesterol-lowering statins, for which Americans shelled out nearly $20 billion in 2005.
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