My dad had a heart attack nearly 20 years ago. My older brother had two heart attacks by the time he was 40. 
I visited him following his bypass surgery, and it occurred to me that our lifestyles were very similar and maybe I should make some changes. This occurred to me as I was in an upscale burger joint, pounding down a double steakburger with cheese, fries and a shake.
I went on a fairly low-fat diet and lost 25 pounds in a couple of months, and made some changes in my exercise routines. Yea! But, that was years ago, and those old habits tend to come back, as do the pounds.
Since mid-2003, my cholesterol level has stayed between 200 and 235, which isn’t especially good. So I spent the past two months being careful about what I ate and exercising, and my cholesterol dropped from 217 to 187. Yea!
I don’t know how sure of a sign high cholesterol is of trouble, but I figure it couldn’t hurt to keep it low.
