Lipids are essential in human physiology, triglycerides for energy and cholesterol as a structural component in cells and as a precurser for hormones and vitamins. However, high blood levels of cholesterol cause atherosclerosis, leading to cardiovascular disease, which is the number one cause of death globally. Genetic evidence suggests that lipoprotein(a) and remnant cholesterol, cholesterol in very low-density and intermediate-density lipoproteins, are causally involved in the development of cardiovascular disease together with low-density lipoproteins and this has spurred the development of drugs potently lowering these.
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