‘Ultrabad’ cholesterol increases risk of heart disease, say researchers

The fatty material is stickier than normal “bad” cholesterol, making it more likely to attach to artery walls.

It is especially common in people with the most common form of Type Two diabetes and the elderly.

Harmful cholesterol, or low-density lipoprotein (LDL), helps create the fatty plaque deposits in arteries that can lead to heart attacks and strokes.

The new type of cholesterol, called MGmin-LDL, has sugary molecules that are smaller and denser than those of the normal LDL.

Its altered shape exposes regions that readily stick to artery walls, providing a starting point for the build-up of plaques.

As the deposits grow they narrow arteries and reduce blood flow. Eventually they can rupture, triggering a blood clot that causes a heart attack or stroke.

The discovery, made by scientists at the University of Warwick, may explain why the widely prescribed diabetes drug metformin appears to reduce heart attack risk.

Metformin is known to lower blood sugar levels, and may block the transformation of “normal” LDL into stickier MGmin-LDL.

The research is reported in the journal Diabetes.