So to answer your question, actually, just think of your heart as a house, right? So in the chapter on plumbing, I talk about the plaque and how the plaque can sometimes rupture like a volcanic eruption and that’s what causes a heart attack. And most heart attacks, unfortunately, are caused like that. And it’s not the cholesterol buildup. Because slow cholesterol buildup actually cause stable angina and you will find this as you go through the chapter on plumbing in my book.

So yes, cholesterol number is important, but studies after studies have shown that taking cholesterol pills like statins – and then there’s a new class of drugs called PCSK59 inhibitors – that there may be a trend where the number is less important, but just being on the pill has hidden effects, which we call pleiotropic effects, that actually calm down that plaque or stabilize the plaque so they don’t – poof! – rupture suddenly and cause a volcanic eruption and a heart attack.

And in the chapter on plumbing, you will learn the difference between a stable and unstable plaque and that would be one way to really understand all this.

So, I hope this helps. Thanks.

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