Abstract
The focus of this review is to explain the clinical significance of laboratory markers that are not used routinely, as well as standard laboratory tests (triglycerides, cholesterol, HDL, and LDL) to evaluate cardiovascular disease risk. Cardiovascular disease is the number one killer in the United States. According to national statistics, there are over 40 million people (men and women) that suffer with symptoms of heart disease. The current medical interventions in cases of advanced cardiovascular disease are Percutaneous Transluminal Coronary Angioplasty (PCTA) and Coronary Bypass Graft (CABG). The number of performed PCTA and CABG procedures can be drastically reduced if clinically-significant preventive risk markers are used coupled with appropriately designed therapeutics. The clinical significance of the following risk markers will be discussed in this review: Homocysteine, Lipoprotein (a), Fibrinogen, Lipid Peroxide, Anti-oxidative LDL antibody, Triglyceride, Total Cholesterol, LDL, VLDL and HDL. (Alt Med Rev 1996;1(3):185-194.