For instance, Stampfer says, "the majority of heart attacks occur in individuals with 'normal' cholesterol.

Nearly half of all heart attacks are in people with normal cholesterol, and about 10 percent are caused by arterial spasms, unrelated to atherosclerosis.

While high cholesterol levels are associated with heart attacks, he said, about a third of the patients had "perfectly normal" cholesterol levels.

About half of the people with heart disease have normal cholesterol levels, a finding that has led many researchers to suspect that other factors must play a role in cardiovascular disease.

The majority of patients have more or less normal cholesterol, Dr. DeBakey said, "which makes me think something else is going on."

Normolipoproteinemic xanthomatosis is a cutaneous condition characterized by a xanthoma in the presence of normal cholesterol and lipoprotein levels.

The criterion for normal cholesterol has dropped multiple times.

They are seeking to learn whether statins can help select populations - the elderly, people with diabetes, patients with normal cholesterol.

Eventually, researchers realized that these "normal" cholesterol levels were likely to lead to heart disease, often showing up as heart attacks in midlife.

The man appeared to be healthy, with low normal cholesterol and triglycerides and normal EKG.