Which lipid assessment combination can be sufficient to evaluate cardiovascular risk in some patients?

• A. HDL and total cholesterol
• B. LDL alone
• C. Triglycerides alone
• D. Lipoprotein(a) alone

Answer: (A)

In evaluating cardiovascular risk with lipids, a simple pairing of total cholesterol and HDL often provides enough information to stratify risk. Total cholesterol reflects overall cholesterol burden, while HDL is the protective fraction; together they allow you to assess the balance between atherogenic and protective lipids. You can also derive non-HDL cholesterol (total minus HDL), which serves as a useful predictor of risk, especially when triglycerides are elevated or when LDL calculation is less reliable.

Other single measures like LDL alone don’t capture the full balance of risk, triglycerides alone aren’t a strong standalone predictor, and lipoprotein(a) adds independent risk information but isn’t sufficient by itself to gauge overall lipid-related risk.