Cardiovascular Disease and Serum Cholesterol

Abstract

A prospective study of 908 men, 40 to 60 years of age, showed that before myocardial infarction, angina pectoris or intermittent claudication developed the serum-cholesterol level was 250 mg% or more in 85% of the cases. In the whole group 33% of the men had a serum cholesterol level of 250 mg% or more. Before conduction disturbances and auricular fibrillation became manifest the serum cholesterol level was significantly higher than in cases who already showed these lesions by the beginning of the investigation. Although this is in favor of the opinion that for the pathogenesis of atherosclerosis hypercholesterolemia is of importance, the great majority of the men with hypercholesterolemia at the beginning of the investigation showed no clinical or electro-cardiographical signs of atherosclerosis during 3 years of observation. The importance of primary lesions of the vessel wall for the pathogenesis of atherosclerosis is discussed.