Heart attack survivors live longer if they have high cholesterol

This study was published in the Journal of the American Geriatrics Society 2003 Jul;51(7):930-6

Study title and authors:

Long-term prognostic importance of total cholesterol in elderly survivors of an acute myocardial infarction: the Cooperative Cardiovascular Pilot Project.

Foody JM, Wang Y, Kiefe CI, Ellerbeck EF, Gold J, Radford MJ, Krumholz HM.

Section of Cardiovascular Medicine, Department of Medicine, Yale School of Medicine, New Haven, Connecticut, USA.

This study can be accessed at: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/12834512

This study sought to determine the relationship of cholesterol levels to long-term survival rates in elderly survivors of a heart attack. The study analysed the death rates of 4,923 heart attack patients aged 65 and older for six years.

The study found:
(a) After one year those with the lowest cholesterol levels (less than 160 mg/dL or 4.1 mmol/l) had 5% more deaths than those with the highest cholesterol (above 240 mg/dL or 6.2 mmol/l).
(b) After six years those with the lowest cholesterol levels (less than 160 mg/dL or 4.1 mmol/l) had 7.6% more deaths than those with the highest cholesterol (above 240 mg/dL or 6.2 mmol/l).

The results of the study show that heart attack survivors live longer if they have high cholesterol.

Links to other studies:
Men who stop smoking AND lower their cholesterol levels have a 2% increase in their death rates
Low cholesterol and increased mortality in men and women
A rise in total cholesterol reduces the risk of mortality in the oldest old