A blood fat's link to artery risk may depend on inflammation
Having high levels of both markers carried an odds ratio of 6.26 for plaque in multiple artery regions, while high particle levels alone showed no significant association.
Edited by Boris Djordjevic · AgingResearch.News
In an observational cohort study, researchers analyzed 784 adults with stable coronary artery disease or no known coronary artery disease, excluding patients with acute coronary syndromes. They assessed subclinical atherosclerosis, the buildup of fatty plaque in carotid and femoral arteries. Participants were grouped by levels of lipoprotein(a), a fatty particle, and high-sensitivity C-reactive protein, an inflammation marker. Elevated lipoprotein(a) alone was not significantly associated with plaque. In contrast, high levels of both markers were linked to an odds ratio of 4.1 for carotid plaque, 3.6 for femoral plaque, and 6.26 for plaque across multiple artery beds.
In a prospective validation cohort of 2,126 adults in the ATTICA study, having high levels of both markers was linked to a hazard ratio of 2.17 for cardiovascular death at 10 years and 1.90 for major cardiovascular events at 20 years. High lipoprotein(a) alone carried no increased risk.
Why it matters
Cardiovascular disease and arterial plaque become more frequent as people age. The findings suggest that inflammation may modify how an inherited blood fat is associated with arterial plaque and long-term cardiovascular outcomes.
Caveats
Because the cohorts were observational, they cannot determine cause and effect, and the initial plaque evaluations were cross-sectional. In addition, the analysis excluded people with acute coronary syndromes, and the findings appeared in a conference abstract.
The paper
National & Kapodistrian University of Athens
ESC Congress 2026 Abstract, Oct 26, 2026
Presented at ESC Congress 2026
