Maurizio Trevisan, professor of social and preventive medicine and dean of the "School of Public Health Professions" conducted a research that showed people with high levels of Glycated LDL have twice the risk of having a heart attack.

Glycated LDL is a form of lipoprotein - a molecule that is a combination of protein and lipid; lipoproteins are the transporters of cholesterol in the bloodstream - with a sugar molecule attached. This blood component is known as the "bad" cholesterol. High LDL is linked to coronary heart disease.

LDL is a plasma protein containing more cholesterol and triglycerides than protein. Eating too much saturated fat and / or trans fat can elevate LDL blood cholesterol levels.

Tryglyceride is the major form of fat. A triglyceride consists of three molecules of fatty acid combined with a molecule of the alcohol glycerol. Triglycerides serve as the backbone of many types of lipids (fats). Triglycerides come from the food we eat as well as from being produced by the body. Triglyceride levels are influenced by recent fat and alcohol intake, and should be measured after fasting for at least 12 hours. A period of abstinence from alcohol is advised before testing for triglycerides.

A trans fatty acid (commonly shortened to trans fat) is an unsaturated fatty acid whose molecules contain trans double bonds between carbon atoms, which makes the molecules less kinked compared to those of "cis fat". Research suggests a correlation between diets high in trans fats and diseases like atherosclerosis and coronary heart disease.

Trevisan's study results showed that diabetic people and nondiabetics have double risk of having heart attack with highest levels of LDL.

The association of Glycated LDL with myocardial infarction might explain why diabetes is a risk factor for heart attack. In fact, Glycated LDL is oxidized easier than normal LDL and more easily metabolized by macrophages, the precursors of foam cells of the atherosclerosis plaque.

Glycated LDL is linked to heart attack and no matter if you are diabetic or not. For instance, of 4.252 study's participants who had not had a heart attack when the study began, 104 people developed a heart attack within five years; 35 of those were diabetic at the start and 70 were not.

Trevisan noted that, while the findings provide interesting information, they cannot be applied to the population at large and these ones need to be confirmed.

However, diabetic people and those who are not can lower the risk of coronary heart disease taking a blood sample and checking specifically for

- Levels of fasting glucose
- Insulin
- Cholesterol
- Triglycerides
- HDL; the good cholesterol
- LDL and
- Glycated LDL.

Your doctor should review results and take needed measures if there are higher levels of Glycated LDL.

Other contributor on the study was Giancarlo Logroscino from Harvard University's School of Public Health and results appeared in the December 2006 online edition of "Nutrition, Metabolism and Cardiovascular Diseases".