Overview
- Researchers assessed 306,183 UK Biobank participants free of cardiovascular disease and recorded 10,824 heart attacks over a median 15-year follow-up.
- Risk followed a stepwise pattern versus those with no elevations: one elevated biomarker corresponded to about 1.45 times the risk, two to 2.14 times, and all three to 2.83 times.
- Elevations were defined as values in the top quintile for lipoprotein(a), remnant cholesterol, and high-sensitivity CRP, with models adjusted for standard cardiovascular risk factors.
- Lp(a) and hsCRP tests are available at many laboratories, and remnant cholesterol can be calculated from routine lipid panels without specialized assays.
- Authors and independent experts note limits to causality and generalizability given the ~95% white cohort and emphasize the need for outcome trials before routine clinical adoption.