# High LDL cholesterol Risk factor · id `cardio:high-ldl-cholesterol` · Cardiovascular Atlas · release `f6f6f1b6f50379ed` (public) > General information from published sources, not medical advice, and not reviewed by clinicians. Check the cited source before relying on anything here. The atlas's own text and curation may be reused under Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International (CC BY-NC 4.0, https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/): credit the atlas, and do not use it commercially. See the atlas About page. Text quoted from a source stays under that source's own terms, given as the source's reuse\_basis. The atlas's reuse terms do not cover it. The downloads list each quotation with its source in third\_party\_quotations. Also called: High bad cholesterol; Raised LDL Browse, organ or system: Metabolism Browse, condition area: Risk and prevention; Coronary and vascular disease ## In plain language LDL is the type of cholesterol that carries cholesterol through the blood and, when levels are high, builds up as plaque in the artery walls. That buildup can lead to coronary artery disease, heart attack and stroke. Lowering LDL is the aim of the statin, ezetimibe, PCSK9 and bempedoic acid trials in this atlas. ## Technical summary Defined here as a high level of LDL cholesterol in the blood, as the patient pages from NHLBI and MedlinePlus describe it; neither page gives a number that defines high. The MeSH heading Hypercholesterolemia is wider than the record, so it is a broad match. The trials recorded here set their own LDL entry thresholds, which are stated on their claims. ## Claims, with the population each applies to ## Context: Adults, general patient-education statements on NHLBI and MedlinePlus pages about coronary disease, heart attack and cholesterol Recipient: Adult; Population: Adults in general. The pages are written for the public and give no study population, age range or risk group for these statements.; Care setting: General health information for the public; no care setting is stated; Geography: United States (pages of US government agencies; some figures on them are US statistics); Life stage: Adults. The NHLBI coronary page gives a prevalence for adults aged 20 and older.; Follow-up: Not applicable (descriptive statement) ### MedlinePlus says that a high LDL level means too much LDL cholesterol in the blood, that this extra LDL forms plaque in the arteries, and that coronary artery disease is that plaque buildup in the arteries of the heart. NHLBI adds that plaque built up from high LDL cholesterol raises the risk of heart attack, stroke and other conditions. - Category: Description - Evidence stage: Evidence stage unknown - Certainty: Certainty not assessed - Applies to: Recipient: Adult; Population: Adults in general. The pages are written for the public and give no study population, age range or risk group for these statements.; Care setting: General health information for the public; no care setting is stated; Geography: United States (pages of US government agencies; some figures on them are US statistics); Life stage: Adults. The NHLBI coronary page gives a prevalence for adults aged 20 and older.; Follow-up: Not applicable (descriptive statement) - Limitations: Patient-education pages. They explain how the process works and give no study, no size of risk and no LDL threshold. They say high LDL raises the risk of coronary artery disease, not by how much. - Last checked: 2026-10-14 - Sources: 1. Supports: LDL: The Bad Cholesterol (MedlinePlus health topic) (Webpage, edition Page fetched 2026-10-14.) Locator: Summary, How can a high LDL level raise my risk: "This extra LDL, along with other substances, forms plaque.". Retrieved 2026-10-14T18:21:46Z. Source state: Current. Snapshot hash: 4967a402c8b5c32e8f1757f843be17908505c3b749c98b7001fd7aa8f533d1a6. How it applies: MedlinePlus explanation of how high LDL leads to plaque. 2. Supports: LDL: The Bad Cholesterol (MedlinePlus health topic) (Webpage, edition Page fetched 2026-10-14.) Locator: Summary, How can a high LDL level raise my risk: "Coronary artery disease happens when the plaque buildup is in the arteries of your heart.". Retrieved 2026-10-14T18:21:46Z. Source state: Current. Snapshot hash: 4967a402c8b5c32e8f1757f843be17908505c3b749c98b7001fd7aa8f533d1a6. How it applies: Links the plaque to coronary artery disease. 3. Supports: Blood Cholesterol: What Is Blood Cholesterol? (NHLBI) (Webpage, edition Page fetched 2026-10-14. The page footer gives no last-updated date in the fetched text.) Locator: Page body, What is blood cholesterol. Retrieved 2026-10-14T18:21:40Z. Source state: Current. Snapshot hash: 29a0ea4dc56eb3191501fac24440448135581637ba8bf06ceae1b0c67c6dc2d7. How it applies: NHLBI statement about the buildup from high levels of LDL cholesterol. ## Connected pages - Raises the risk of coronary artery disease: Coronary artery disease (`cardio:coronary-artery-disease`) [a claim, not a settled fact; see claim `cardio:claim-high-ldl-raises-cad-risk` and its context] - A main prevention target: Preventing heart attack, stroke and heart failure (`cardio:cardiovascular-prevention`) - Related to: MedlinePlus (`core:medlineplus`) - Related to: PCSK9 (gene and protein) (`cardio:pcsk9`) - Related to: LDL cholesterol blood test (`cardio:ldl-cholesterol`) - Evaluated for this: Bempedoic acid (`cardio:bempedoic-acid`) [a claim, not a settled fact; see claim `cardio:claim-clear-outcomes-bempedoic-acid` and its context] - Evaluated for this: Statins (`cardio:statins`) [a claim, not a settled fact; see claim `cardio:claim-ctt-ldl-lowering-reduces-vascular-events` and its context] ## Provenance Content hash: bfcfb974cf56faf954ab1c356207553a2470244d0053e508698aa823457fad0c Last substantive edit: 2026-10-14 Evidence last checked: 2026-10-14