High-density Lipoproteins (HDLs): Biomarkers or bio-actors of abdominal aortic aneurysmal disease?

High-density lipoproteins (HDL) are characterized by their ability to carry out reverse transport of cholesterol from peripheral tissues back to the liver. HDL-cholesterol (HDL-C) concentration has been known for a long time to be inversely correlated with cardiovascular diseases. However, an increasing body of evidence suggests that circulating HDL-C levels may only represent a surrogate marker of atherosclerosis and that these lipoproteins do not participate in the etiology of cardiovascular disease.