ABSTRACT
Prospective observational studies have found a good correlation between increasing serum cholesterol and an increased risk of myocardial infarction, such as in the Framingham study (Thomas et al., 1966; Cullen et al., 1997; Jousilahti et al., 1998). Subsequently, the idea came that lowering cholesterol level would result in less myocardial infarction and less cardiovascular death in the population at risk, and mainly in patients with high levels of serum cholesterol (Grundy et al., 1998). Because unproved, this idea has long been controversial. It implied that cholesterol plays a major etiologic role in atherosclerotic processes.
