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Cardiovascular Risk Factors, An Issue of Clinics in Laboratory Medicine (The Clinics: Internal Medicine)
Cardiovascular Risk Factors An Issue of Clinics in Laboratory Medicine - The Clinics: Internal Medicine Author:D. Smith With the advent of goal guidelines for LDL cholesterol based on assessment of risk in the National Cholesterol Education Program, internists, primary care practitioners, and cardiologists have become increasingly aware of the publics desire to know their individual risk for atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease, in order to know whether to init... more »iate life-style or pharmacologic preventive therapy. The Framingham risk equation utilizing age and gender, blood pressure, smoking and diabetes history, total and HDL cholesterol levels has become the classic tool for predicting risk. And yet new risk factors are continuously being publicized: lipoprotein (a), LDL particle sizing and number, apolipoproteins B and A-1, inflammatory markers such as ultrasensitive C reactive protein, measures of insulin resistance, urinary microalbuminur, homocysteine, markers of thrombosis, and lipoprotein-associated phospholipase A2. Both physicians and clinical pathologists need to be aware of the methodologies for performing and standardizing these tests and for assuring precise and accurate results. Critically important as well is knowledge of the epidemiologic data establishing strata of risk and supporting goal levels. The purpose of this volume of Clinics in Laboratory Medicine is to have experts in the field present this information in one volume.« less