In this editorial, Mozaffarian discusses how free fatty acid levels may be related to sudden cardiac death. The author also raises the issue of whether free fatty acid levels are an independent risk marker of underlying metabolic abnormalities and notes that whether they also directly affect cardiovascular risk (making them an eventual target for therapy) is an unsolved question. Of course, making lifestyle changes such as stopping smoking, losing abdominal fat, and increasing physical activity could substantially alter the processes that influence plasma free fatty acid levels. The author hopes that these findings will stimulate further research on the mechanisms by which free fatty acids are related to sudden death. He also acknowledges that free fatty acid levels may be only one more marker of a dysmetabolic profile leading to sudden death.
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