Recent scientific research has demonstrated that atherosclerosis, or blocking of arteries, is caused by lipoprotein particles and not by cholesterol itself.  Made up of lipids and various proteins, lipoprotein particles are the main way lipids like cholesterol and triglyceride are transported throughout the bloodstream.  These are the particles that can build up in the walls of a person's arteries and cause cardiovascular disease.

Physicians must now realize that determining their patients' risk for cardiovascular disease is not so simple as just measuring their cholesterol levels.  Regardless of the amount of cholesterol being carried by lipoprotein particles, it is their number and NOT their cholesterol content that contributes to cardiovascular disease.