Serum lipoprotein abnormalities in ischaemic heart disease.

Quantitative lipoprotein level data was obtained from healthy subjects and patients with ischaemic heart disease or peripheral vascular disease in four European communities. Hypertriglyceridaemia, due mainly to an increase in VLDL triglyceride, was commoner in London and Uppsala than in Naples and Geneva. In three communities there were significant increases in total serum cholesterol due to both increases in LDL and in VLDL cholesterol. Hypercholesterolaemic and hypertriglyceridaemic status were over-represented in both ischaemic heart disease and peripheral vascular disease patients.