For decades, the strategy has been straightforward.
Lower cholesterol.
Reduce risk.
And to be clear, that works.
Lower cholesterol is associated with lower cardiovascular events.
That’s been shown again and again.
But there’s a gap.
Because even when cholesterol is lowered, risk doesn’t disappear.
Events still happen.
Patients still progress.
Something remains unaddressed.
To see it, you have to go back to the system.
Particle levels are determined by two forces.
Production.
Clearance.
Most therapies, especially the ones we use first, work on one side of that equation.
They improve clearance.
They help the body remove particles more efficiently.
And when that happens, particle levels fall.
Risk falls with it.
But clearance is only half the system.
If production remains elevated…
the system keeps generating new particles.
They continue to enter circulation.
They continue to create exposure.
So even as you improve removal, you may still be feeding the system from the other side.
This is why lowering cholesterol doesn’t always fully resolve risk.
Because cholesterol is not the system.
It’s a signal within it.
What matters is how many particles are moving through circulation over time.
And that depends on both how many are produced…
and how effectively they are cleared.
If you only address one side, you only partially shift the system.
This is where the conversation needs to evolve.
Not away from lowering cholesterol.
But beyond it.
Toward understanding what is driving particle production in the first place.
Because the liver is not producing particles randomly.
It’s responding to signals.
Metabolic signals.
Energy signals.
Hormonal signals.
And when those signals push production higher, the system changes.
More particles.
More exposure.
More risk.
So the goal isn’t just to remove what’s already there.
It’s to understand why the system is producing what it is.
Because when you address both sides…
production and clearance…
the system finally starts to move in the right direction.
Continue reading - What Actually Determines How Many Particles You Have?
Or start here - The LIV System