Trans Fat and Cardiovascular Disease

Abstract

Cardiovascular disease remains the number one killer in the United States. According to the American Heart Association statistics, CVD accounted for 35.2% of total deaths in 2005 in the United States.¹ This is also true for developing countries, such as China and India: CVD has also become the first or second leading causes of death; it is responsible for around 30% of total deaths in developing countries.² Of many risk factors for CVD, dietary intake of fats received much attention and has been extensively studied due to the facts that blood cholesterol levels are a strong predictor for CVD³ and that dietary fats are a strong determinant for serum lipids.⁴ Although the effects of some fatty acids on coronary health are still a matter of debate, the relationship between trans fatty acids and risk of CVD has been established.⁵