Cardio and cerebrovascular diseases (CVDs) are multifactorial in etiology, and share some common risk factors. No other life threatening disease is as prevalent or expensive to society as CVDs. It has potentially enormous emotional and socioeconomic consequences for patients, their families, and health services. The Framingham Study showed that 35% of cases of coronary heart disease were in people with normal total cholesterol levels, although the impact of elevated cholesterol on stroke risk has been disputed. These findings point out the need for markers that better predict cardiovascular...