Dealing with the complexity of lipid metabolism, its outcomes and modification can easily seem overwhelming for primary healthcare professionals. This article aims to help you understand the fundamentals using a back-to-basics approach designed to enhance your practical management of the most important risk factor for the development of atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease. The focus will be on the cholesterol-carrying lipoproteins LDL and HDL but we will also review important issues concerning the use of the total cholesterol to HDL ratio, the significance of triglycerides and the perennial question: ‘to fast or not to fast?’
