Cholesterol measurement and current guidelines

The concentration of total cholesterol has so far been part of the SCORE tables for estimating the risk of cardiovascular events; in the new SCORE2 tables, it has already been replaced by non-HDL-cholesterol. Total cholesterol continues to serve as a guide for the presence of dyslipoproteinemia and is necessary for the calculation of LDL-cholesterol and non-HDL-cholesterol. The importance of HDL-cholesterol as a separate risk factor is already limited, but it is necessary for the calculation of non-HDL-cholesterol and LDL-cholesterol. LDL-cholesterol remains an essential indicator of risk, it is needed for decision making and control of hypolipidemic therapy. Non HDL-cholesterol can be used as a therapy target instead of LDL-cholesterol. Triglycerides remain necessary for residual risk assessment, for the calculation of LDL-cholesterol and for the diagnosis of certain types of dyslipoproteinemias.