JJ it makes you wonder doesn't it. My mother consistiently ran at 255-260 for years.. She had 2 angiograms during the 12 year period. clean as a whistle arteries. Her heart doc said she would never have a problem. She went to a neurologist because of balance problems and weak legs. (have since found out it was side effect from Imipramine, given to her because or urinary problems. However the urinary problems (urge incontinence) were from the excessive amount of calcium the doctor was having her take). That neurologist put her on Zocor and diltiazem (cartia at that time). Within 2 years she was in a wheelchair. Another year later she had to have triple bypass surgery because her plaque became unstable. She is off all cholesterol medication now.. because when they put her back on the Zetia right before surgery, she started to go down hill again. Her problems were not related to the heart surgery. It was the proximal muscle weakness rearing its head again. Its funny how i can now plot on a graph every time her cholesterol got less than 230. I didn't even need to know what she was taking, I could tell by her decline. WHen i matched up the cholesterol medication, decline and cholesterol numbers they all matched. Her biggest decline came with the switch from zocor to lipitor, and her doctor doubling her diltiazem to 240 mg LA twice per day. She went from shopping by herself to a wheelchair in 4 months. I was reading a recent study in Canada that was very comprehensive. They found that statins decreased heart attacks and strokes aby 1.4 percent. That means that 71 people with high cholesterol would have to be treated with statins for up to 5 years to prevent just one heart attack or stroke. On top of that they found that serious side effects caused by the drugs was increased by 1.8 percent. Also found that Statins are NOT for use with Congestive HEart Failure. In fact a lower serum cholesterol level was associated with a poorer prognosis in congestive heart failure. Congestive heart failure is not the same as coronary artery disease, although many doctors put them into one catagory as heart disease. This could spell death for many people. It is funny that no drug company has had a trial that treated people with congestive heart failure. In fact they were excluded.