Low density lipoprotein cholesterol is the well-known culprit in terms of cardiovascular risk.

Courtesy of a large meta-analysis of statin trials done in 2010 (the Cholesterol Treatment Trialists Collaboration), we know that for people starting with higher LDL-C levels (approximately 3.4 mmol/L), they can lower their risk of having a major adverse vascular event by 22%, every time they lower their LDL-C level by 1mmol/L.

But what happens once your LDL level is lower? Can you continue to increase your protection by lowering your LDL levels further? Or does the beneficial effect plateau at a certain level? Or, worse still can very low LDL levels actually cause harm?