Table 4: Atherogenic lipids, lipoproteins, apolipoproteins, and markers.5,9

Variable/units

Desirable or optimal values

LDL-c, mg/dL

Borderline < 130; desirable < 100; optimal ~50-70

TG, mg/dL

< 150

Non-HDL cholesterol, mg/dL (= TC - HDL-c)

Optimal ~< 100; borderline 100-129

Remnant cholesterol, mg/dL

(= TC - LDL-c - HDL-c

Optimal < 19; desirable ~< 30

Apolipoprotein B, mg/dL

Optimal < 60; desirable < 100

VLDL-c, mg/dL

20-25

IDL-c, mg/dL

9-10

Number of particles of LDL, nmol/L

< 1,000

Number of particles of small and dense LDL (LDLsd), nmol/L

< 500

Size of LDLsd, nm

24.2-25.2

ApoB/ApoA quotient

Optimal < 0.6 men; < 0.5 women:

desirable < 1 men; < 0.8 women

TC/HDL-c quotient

< 4.5 in men and < 4 in women in primary prevention, and < 4 in men and < 3 in women in secondary prevention

LDL-c/HDL-c quotient

< 3 in men and < 2.5 in women in primary prevention, and < 2.5 in men and < 2 in women in secondary prevention

TG/HDL-c quotient

Optimal < 2; desirable 2-3.9

Abbreviatures as in the text. Non-HDL cholesterol represents the whole set of atherogenic lipoproteins with Apo B. Its measure is particularly indicated in cases of severe hypertriglyceridemia, which prevents the use of Friedewald’s formula. Remnant cholesterol is a measure of TRLs: CHY, its remnants, VLDL, and IDL. LDLsd is the number of small and dense highly atherogenic particles, whose proportion increase in hypertriglyceridemic states. The first three quotients of the table simply describe the direct relation between atherogenic cholesterol or apolipoprotein B and ASCVD risk, and the inverse relation between that risk and HDL-c or its main apolipoprotein, A-I. The last ratio, TG/HDL-c is more complex, because signals the state of insulin resistance and its relationship with atherogenic dyslipidemia.