Why do some people with high cholesterol still live to a very old age?

While the likelihood of someone with high cholesterol having a heart attack and dying prematurely is much higher than if they had low cholesterol, that doesn’t mean everyone with high cholesterol will die prematurely, just as people who smoke two packs of cigarettes a day will not all die of lung cancer. But it is not sensible to simply believe that you will be one of the lucky ones.