Although the relative risk for developing CHD in
persons with high cholesterol levels decreases
with advanced age (>7580 years), high serum
cholesterol levels still convey an increased risk for
future cardiac events [Malenka and Baron,
1988]. It has been argued that the relative risk
related to elevated serum cholesterol does not
adequately predict the magnitude of CHD in
the elderly because it does not take into account
the high frequency of atherosclerosis in this age
group. A more appropriate value appears to be
attributable to risk between cohorts having high
and low cholesterol levels; the risk probably
reflects the impact of high cholesterol levels on
the absolute incidence at a given age. In other
words, elevated serum cholesterol is associated
with a greater number of CHD events in the
elderly than in the middle-aged or younger population.
Consequently, reducing cholesterol concentration
from high to low may well result in a
greater overall reduction in new CHD events in