Open Access, Peer-reviewed
pISSN 2287-2892
eISSN 2288-2561
    J Lipid Atheroscler. 2013 Jun;2(1):1-8. Korean.
    Published online May 15, 2013.
    https://doi.org/10.12997/jla.2013.2.1.1
    © 2013 The Korean Society Lipidology and Atherosclerosis.
    Review

    Triglyceride and Cardiovascular Disease

    Myung-A Kim
      • Division of Cardiology, Department of Internal Medicine, Seoul National University College of Medicine, Boramae Medical Center, Seoul, Korea.
    • Corresponding Author: Myung-A Kim, Division of Cardiology, Department of Internal Medicine, Seoul National University, College of Medicine, Boramae Medical Center, 20, Boramae-ro 5-gil, Dongjak-gu, Seoul 156-707, Korea. Tel: +82-2-870-2213, Fax: +82-2-870-3866, Email: kma@brm.co.kr
    Received April 22, 2013; Revised April 25, 2013; Accepted May 02, 2013.

    This is an Open Access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution Non-Commercial License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/3.0/) which permits unrestricted non-commercial use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.

    Abstract

    Hypercholesterolemia is a well-known risk factor for cardiovascular disease. However, cardiovascular risk still remains even after achieving target goals for total and low density lipoprotein (LDL) cholesterol. There is a controversy whether triglyceride (TG) is directly related with atherosclerosis and/or cardiovascular disease. Some studies demonstrate that hypertriglyceridemia is associated with cardiovascular disease, especially in patients with insulin resistance or metabolic syndrome. Triglyceride level below 100 mg/dL is considered as metabolically healthy state. Nonfasting TG level can be used to detect incident cardiovascular disease. Fasting lipid panel should be checked if nonfasting TG level is equal or greater than 200 mg/dL. Target goals of TG are <200 mg/dL in nonfasting state, and <150 mg/dL (normal) or <100 mg/dL (optimal) in fasting state. Overall treatment of hypertriglyceridemia is intensive life style modification including reducing body weight, decreasing carbohydrate intake, increasing n-3 fatty acid intake, reducing alcohol intake, and increasing aerobic exercise. Pharmacological therapy focuses on reducing LDL-cholesterol with statin. Drug therapy for reducing TG seems to have less evidence of reducing cardiovascular events. If TG level is equal or higher than 500 mg/dL, TG lowering therapy is recommended in addition to life style modification to prevent pancreatitis.

    Keywords
    Triglyceride; Atherosclerosis; Cardiovascular disease

    Tables

    Table 1
    Effects of lifestyle modification on triglyceride level reduction

    Table 2
    Effect of lipid-lowering therapies on triglyceride reduction

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    MeSH Terms
    Atherosclerosis
    Body Weight
    Cardiovascular Diseases
    Cholesterol
    Exercise
    Fasting
    Humans
    Hydroxymethylglutaryl-CoA Reductase Inhibitors
    Hypercholesterolemia
    Hypertriglyceridemia
    Insulin Resistance
    Life Style
    Lipoproteins
    Pancreatitis
    Risk Factors
    Metrics
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