Higher total cholesterol linked to lower sick sinus syndrome risk
The highest versus lowest quarter for total cholesterol had a hazard ratio, a measure of relative risk, of 0.674 for sick sinus syndrome.
Limit: Sick sinus syndrome was identified through insurance claims
Edited by Boris Djordjevic · AgingResearch.News
Researchers studied 3,346,579 adults in South Korea in an observational cohort study. Their mean age was 44.8 years, and 55% were men. The team used national health screening data from 2012 and a three-year lag to reduce the possibility that existing illness influenced lipid levels. Over a mean 7.2 years, 1,409 people developed sick sinus syndrome, a disorder of the heart’s natural pacemaker.
The highest versus lowest quarter for total cholesterol was associated with lower risk, with a hazard ratio—a measure of relative risk over time—of 0.674. Corresponding estimates were 0.732 for low-density lipoprotein cholesterol and 0.589 for triglycerides, another blood fat. High-density lipoprotein cholesterol showed no steady pattern across quarters. Its lowest quarter was associated with lower risk than its highest (hazard ratio 0.838), while its second quarter tended to have the lowest risk.
Why it matters
Lowering blood fats is central to preventing cardiovascular disease caused by fatty buildup in arteries. These observations raise a question about whether the same “lower is better” principle applies to sick sinus syndrome.
Caveats
The observational design cannot establish cause and effect, and sick sinus syndrome was identified through insurance claims. The findings from this South Korean cohort may not apply to other populations.
- Total cholesterol
- Sick sinus syndrome
- Low-density lipoprotein cholesterol
- High-density lipoprotein cholesterol
- Incident sick sinus syndrome risk
- Humans
The paper
Korea University Guro Hospital
ESC Congress 2026 Abstract, Oct 26, 2026
Presented at ESC Congress 2026
