[The LDL-HDL Ratio in Patients with Coronary Arteriosclerosis (author's Transl)]

In 171 patients with coronary arteriosclerosis the severity of the angiographic findings was assessed by the score of Friesinger. The total serum cholesterol concentration showed an only weak positive correlation with the extent of coronary arteriosclerosis. In contrast, a strict correlation could be documented with the LDL-HDL ratio. The LDL-HDL ratio was 1.49 in the control group with angiographically free coronary arteries, 1.95 in patients with an angiographic score of 1-5, 2.39 at a score of 6-10, and 2.75 at a score of 11-15. The corresponding total serum cholesterol values (control group: 219 mg/100 ml) were 229 mg/100 ml, 242 mg/100 ml and 258 mg/100 ml. Especially at still normal serum cholesterol concentrations an already pathological shift in the lipoprotein pattern in correlation with the extent of coronary arteriosclerosis was indicated by the LDL-HDL ratio. Thus a greater predictive power for coronary risk is attributed to the LDL-HDL ratio rather than to the total serum cholesterol concentration.