High-density lipoprotein cholesterol: origins and the path ahead.

PURPOSE OF REVIEW: We provide a historical perspective of how high-density lipoprotein (HDL) cholesterol became a clinical standard, the evidence in favor of HDL function as a more appropriate indication of HDL's antiatherogenic nature, and the options ahead. RECENT
FINDINGS: Recent studies have demonstrated a strong relationship between the cholesterol efflux capacity of plasma and prevalent cardiovascular disease (CVD) and CVD event risk, indicating the utility of HDL function as a diagnostic/prognostic of CVD.
SUMMARY: We will present how HDL cholesterol came to be the standard proxy of HDL function, the key observations that drew its clinical relevance into question, and the pros and cons of commercially available approaches to measuring HDL function.