High-density lipoprotein cholesterol and prognosis after myocardial infarction.

The Coronary Drug Project was a randomized, placebo-controlled trial of lipid-influencing drugs in men who had recovered from one or more documented myocardial infarctions. Determinations of high-density lipoprotein (HDL) cholesterol were made at baseline in a group of 354 men randomized to the placebo group. Five-year mortality was highest (33.0%) in men with baseline serum HDL cholesterol levels of less than 35 mg/dl; it was 15.9%, 17.7%, and 21.8% in men with levels of 35--39, 40--44, and greater than or equal to 45 mg/dl, respectively (for the linear inverse relationship between HDL cholesterol and 5-year mortality, p = 0.029). Adjustment for 40 baseline variables had a minimal effect on this relationship (p = 0.042).