Now we look at a new study on heart disease. It identifies the beginnings of atherosclerosis in very young children and links these origins with high blood pressure and high levels of serum cholesterol.

During the 10-year study, Dr. William P. Newman and colleagues at Louisiana State University Medical Center studied more than 8,000 young people. They measured serum cholesterol, as well as various cholesterol fractions--high-density (HDL), low-density (LDL), and very low-density (VLDL) lipoprotein cholesterol.

Weighing the evidence on risk factors, the investigators found the extent of atherosclerosis to be directly related to increasing levels of serum cholesterol and low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (the cholesterol fraction that transports cholesterol to the cells) and inversely related to the level of high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (which helps remove excess cholesterol).