Some people have high cholesterol but not much atherosclerosis. We can think of their arteries as having non-stick surfaces. We know inflammation can predispose to plaque formation and plaque rupture, which is the trigger of most heart attacks.

We know statin drugs can prevent and reverse plaque build-up, and make existing plaque sturdier and less likely to rupture. These drugs lower blood levels of inflammatory substances.

Most doctors focus on their cholesterol-lowering properties, but they do many other things that may in fact be more important than lowering levels of bad LDL cholesterol.

We also know there are populations where even old people have very little heart disease and very little plaque build-up. Diet and physical activity seem to be a bigger cause of this than genetics.