Relevance of the reduction of triglycerides in the prevention of coronary heart disease.

Triglyceride metabolism is complex and still poorly understood. Hypertriglyceridemia seems to enhance the risk for the development of coronary heart disease, but it cannot be regarded as a counterpart of hypercholesterolemia as a risk factor. The relevance of reduction of triglycerides in the prevention of coronary heart disease is still unclear. This is related to a number of problems, such as the lack of adequate clinical trials, heterogeneity in the abnormalities of triglyceride metabolism and unknown atherogenic threshold levels for serum triglycerides.