[Risk factors for coronary heart disease]

Cardiovascular disease remains the major cause of death in the industrialized world with dyslipidemia, hypertension and cigarette smoking leading a long list of risk factors. Recently, controversy arose from some critical articles expressing concern about the evaluation and interpretation of statistical data of epidemiologic studies. One study using covariance analysis reported an absence of the widely accepted negative association between coronary heart disease (CHD) and high density lipoprotein (HDL) cholesterol. Also criticism was expressed regarding the cost-effectiveness of preventive measures such as the use of lipid lowering drugs on life expectancy. Because of such recent scientific controversy and discussions already taking place in the media, we have summarized in this article recent epidemiologic evidence including a meta-analysis of the major epidemiologic studies on HDL. We have directed particular attention to 3 large epidemiological studies, i.e., the Familial Atherosclerosis Treatment Study (FATS), the Program on the Surgical Control of the Hyperlipidemias (POSCH), and the Cholesterol Lowering Atherosclerosis Study (CLAS), all of which have clearly demonstrated a desirable effect of intensive lipid lowering therapy on coronary lesions.