The Simon Broome Familal Hyperlipidaemia Register Group followed 3000 people with hypercholesterolemia, at most recent, 102 of them died of a heart attack.But if you take the same age group in the English population they calculated the expected number to be 40.
Other studies about famlial hypercholesterolemia:
Finland- 30 people died, 26 of heart attack, 4 of other causes. 67% of those who died smoked, while 41% was that for the survivors. Initial LDL was the same for those who died and those who were still alive.
UK, US, Canada- Found cholesterol varied little individuals with heart disease and those without, in fact, those with the highest LDL had no heart disease.
Netherlands- People with familial hypercholesterolemia lived longer according to Dr. Eric Sijbrands and co-workers who studied university hospitals.
Before the 1900's, the most common cause of death was infectious diseases, yet those with familial hypercholesterolemia lived longer.
"These studies show that the problem is not these people's high cholesterol, but rather their higher susceptibility for clot formations." - Uffe Ravnskov
(the clots he referring to are prothrombin)
One study included 850 people with hypercholesterolemia, before the trial they were given Lipitor, then half given torcetrapid. Carotid thickness actually increased in the half that got torcetrapid although LDL was 20% lower and HDL was 60% higher. More than twice the number of people administered torcetrapid had cardiovascular events compared to those who didn't.
(granted, torcetrapid was later acknowledged as increasing heart disease, though it gave people, on average, 60% higher HDLs)
Frank Cooper, a person with hypercholesterolemia, shunned drugs and lived until 50 with no sign of heart disease, with a cholesterol of 387mg/dl
