Conducted by medical experts, the Framingham Heart Study determined that high blood cholesterol is a contributing factor of CHD, or coronary heart disease. These study results showed that people with higher levels of cholesterol were more likely to develop coronary heart disease. On the other hand, it is unusual for people with low cholesterol to suffer from CHD.

This connection between high blood cholesterol and heart disease was also confirmed by another group of experts, whose studies showed that lowering the total LDL cholesterol (bad cholesterol) level could actually reduce the risk of coronary heart disease. A recent series of cholesterol trials using statin drugs suggested that lowering both total and LDL cholesterol levels could greatly reduce the chance of experiencing heart attack, angioplasty (a surgical bypass) or death due to a coronary heart disease-related cause.

Other factors, in addition to high cholesterol levels, can increase the risk of developing heart disease. Some of these factors can be lowered with relatively simple diet, medication or lifestyle changes, but others cannot be altered. As you present more combined risk factors, you face a greater likelihood of experiencing heart disease.

Among the unalterable factors leading to heart disease, the most common are as follows:

* Age (45 and over for men, 55 and over for women)

* Family history (parents or sibling who died from heart disease at the ages stated above)

There are some risk factors that you have the power to change. They are:

* High total cholesterol and high LDL or "bad" cholesterol. Lower your HDL or "good" cholesterol levels

* High blood pressure

* Stop smoking

* Manage your diabetes. Diabetics face a higher risk of developing heart disease

* Little or no physical activity

* Lose excess weight

If you have one or more of these high-risk factors, see your physician to find out how you can take action and reduce your chances of suffering a heart attack.

Some experts believe that high blood cholesterol and heart disease are indeed connected. On the other hand, there are those who hold that too much animal fat resulting in high cholesterol is the contributing factor to heart disease. These experts argue that there may or may not be "good" and "bad" cholesterols. They also believe that factors such as physical activity, mental stress and a change in body weight may influence the levels of the blood cholesterol, and that high blood cholesterol is a simply reflection of an unhealthy lifestyle, but not dangerous.

Experts may disagree on the factors of cholesterol and heart disease. The one thing everyone agrees on, however, is that we all need to reduce the risks and increase our quality of life.