Scientists from Copenhagen University Hospitals, led by Dr. Jacob Freiberg, said the methodology used in previous studies might have missed an association between triglycerides and ischemic stroke.

"By using levels of non-fasting rather than fasting triglycerides and by having more statistical power than any previous study, we detected a previously unnoticed association between linear increases in levels of non-fasting triglycerides and stepwise increases in risk of ischemic stroke … ," the researchers wrote. "Even the most recent European and North American guidelines on stroke prevention do not recognize elevated triglyceride levels as a risk factor for stroke.

"Our results, together with those from two previous studies, suggest that elevated levels of non-fasting triglycerides and remnant lipoprotein cholesterol could be considered together with elevated levels of low-density lipoprotein cholesterol for prediction of cardiovascular risk."

The study appears in the Journal of the American Medical Association.