Mechanistic Insights into the Oxidized Low-Density Lipoprotein-Induced Atherosclerosis

Figure 7

Diagram illustrating the effects of diet, drugs, and genes on plasma LDL and coronary disease. The figure is reproduced from Goldstein and Brown [35] (under the Creative Commons Attribution License/public domain) “(Reprinted (A Century of Cholesterol and Coronaries: From Plaques to Genes to Statins) with permission from Elsevier (License number 4825791117921)).” (a) Diet. Idealized depiction of the frequency distribution of plasma cholesterol levels in the human species as extrapolated from surveys of middle-aged people in major populations of the world. The higher the cholesterol level, higher the risk for coronary disease, as denoted by graded red shading. (b) Drugs. Frequency of coronary events plotted against plasma level of LDL cholesterol in four double-blind, placebo-controlled trials in which middle-aged people at risk for heart attacks were treated for 5 years with a statin or placebo. The number of subjects in each study was as follows: 4S Study, 4,444; LIPID, 9,014; CARE, 4,159; and HPS, 20,536. (c) Genes. Difference in risk for coronary disease in middle-aged people depending on whether plasma LDL cholesterol level is reduced over a lifetime (heterozygous loss of function of PCSK9) or for only 5 years (statin therapy).

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