The new thinking on lipids and coronary artery disease

Detection and treatment of high blood cholesterol has significantly reduced cardiovascular events. However, most individuals with coronary artery disease do not have hypercholesterolemia. Atherosclerosis is a complex interaction of inherited susceptibility and environmental issues that combine to create an atherogenic milieu. Appropriate diagnosis and treatment of patients with coronary artery disease can be of significant benefit, but if treatment is not individualized to the patient's individual metabolic abnormality, many patients will receive little to no benefit despite improved lipid profiles.