Historical milestones in measurement of HDL-cholesterol: impact on clinical and laboratory practice.

High-density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL-C) comprises a family of particles with differing physicochemical characteristics. Continuing progress in improving HDL-C analysis has originated from two separate fields-one clinical, reflecting increased attention to HDL-C in estimating risk for coronary heart disease (CHD), and the other analytical, reflecting increased emphasis on finding more reliable and cost-effective HDL-C assays. Epidemiologic and prospective studies established the inverse association of HDL-C with CHD risk, a relationship that is consistent with protective mechanisms demonstrated in basic research and animal studies.