We wanted to share our research from a medical abstract.
An ApoB test helps your doctor analyze whether or not you are at risk for heart disease. It measures the amount of apolipoprotein B in your blood. Apolipoprotein B attaches to negative types of cholesterol that cause plaque buildup in your blood vessels, which can lead to damage and heart disease
Background
You might have heard about "bad" cholesterol, or LDL-C (low-density lipoprotein cholesterol), which is linked to heart problems. There's another important factor called apolipoprotein B (apoB) that also plays a role in heart health. Both LDL-C and apoB are measures of the fats in your blood that can lead to heart disease.
Objectives
Scientists wanted to know if having too much apoB could increase the risk of heart attacks (myocardial infarction or MI), atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease (ASCVD), and death from any cause.
Methods
The study involved over 53,000 women and 41,000 men from the Copenhagen General Population Study. None of them were taking statins (a type of cholesterol-lowering medication). The researchers measured the levels of apoB and LDL-C in these people and tracked their health over time. They used a statistical method called Cox proportional hazards regressions to see how excess apoB (levels higher than expected based on LDL-C alone) affected the risk of MI, ASCVD, and death.
Results
Over a median follow-up of nearly 10 years, there were 2,048 heart attacks, 4,282 ASCVD events, and 8,873 deaths. The study found that higher levels of excess apoB were linked to a higher risk of heart attacks and ASCVD in both women and men. Women with high levels of excess apoB also had a higher risk of dying from any cause. Here are some key findings:
- For women with excess apoB levels of 26 to 45 mg/dL, the risk of ASCVD was 1.30 times higher compared to those with lower levels.
- For men with excess apoB levels of 26 to 45 mg/dL, the risk of ASCVD was 1.41 times higher compared to those with lower levels.
These results were consistent across different levels of LDL-C.
Conclusions
The study shows that having high levels of apoB, even more than what LDL-C alone would suggest, is linked to a higher risk of heart attacks and ASCVD in both women and men. This means that measuring apoB levels can give doctors important information about heart health, beyond just looking at LDL-C levels.
Understanding the role of apoB can help in better predicting and managing the risk of heart disease.
Stay tuned for more updates and insights from the Cross County Cardiology Education Team.
