"Coronary Heart Disease Mortality and Blood Cholesterol
In the Seven Countries study, there were great differences in coronary heart disease (CHD) mortality at similar blood cholesterol levels.
In this study Dr. Keys pointed to a correlation between deaths from coronary heart disease and serum cholesterol in 15 populations in seven countries.
Dr Ravnskov plotted his original data which was not available in the research summaries. Particularly interesting were differences between two localities within the same country or nearby islands in each of 4 of the seven countries.
West Finland had about 45 CHD (coronary heart disease) deaths at a median cholesterol level of 250 mg/dl. However North Karelia, also in Finland, had over 200 CHD deaths at about 260 mg/dl.
The island of Crete had only 20 CHD deaths at cholesterol levels of about 200. The nearby island of Corfu had about 85 CHD deaths at a cholesterol level of about 190 mg/dl."