Relation of Triglyceride Levels, Fasting and Nonfasting, to Fatal and Nonfatal Coronary Heart Disease

Abstract
THE ROLE OF blood triglyceride (TG) levels in predicting coronary heart disease (CHD) independently of established major risk factors (total cholesterol level, low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C) level, blood pressure, and smoking) remains unclear. In addition, it remains to be determined whether fasting or nonfasting levels are more informative for CHD risk. A National Institutes of Health Consensus Conference in 1993 on these issues concluded the following: TG levels are weak predictors at best for CHD when other risk factors are taken into account, and, on the basis of scant available data, nonfasting TG levels may be more important than fasting TG levels.1