Review of risk factors for cardiovascular diseases

Traditional risk factors for coronary heart disease (CHD) include only the patient's age and family history and whether there is evidence of hypertens ion, elevated LDL, low HDL, diabetes or history of smoking. In recent years , considerable progress has been made in identifying a new generation of ri sk factors, including Lp(a), triglycerides, subfractions of HDL and LDL, mo dified LDL, apo E pheno/genotype, homocysteine and fibrinogen. At the same time, studies have broadened our knowledge of traditional markers. These ad vances have enabled physicians to make a better assessment of patient risk for CHD and to prescribe more appropriate treatment.