HDL cholesterol

HDL cholesterol is the "good" cholesterol. If LDL particles are trucks delivering cholesterol into artery walls, HDL particles act more like cleanup crews, picking up excess cholesterol and carrying it back to the liver to be processed and removed.

HDL stands for high-density lipoprotein. Because it participates in clearing cholesterol from tissues — a process called reverse cholesterol transport — higher HDL levels have long been associated with lower cardiovascular risk in population studies. It is one of the numbers reported on a standard lipid panel.

There is an important caveat: simply raising HDL with drugs has generally failed to reduce heart attacks in clinical trials, and very high HDL may not be protective. So HDL is best viewed as a risk marker that reflects underlying biology, not a number to be pushed up at all costs. Lowering LDL remains the central treatment target.