Higher cholesterol levels are associated with a lower risk of irregular heart beat

This study was published in Circulation 1997 Oct 7;96(7):2455-61

Study title and authors:
Incidence of and risk factors for atrial fibrillation in older adults.

Psaty BM, Manolio TA, Kuller LH, Kronmal RA, Cushman M, Fried LP, White R, Furberg CD, Rautaharju PM.
Department of Medicine, University of Washington, Seattle, USA.

This study can be accessed at: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/9337224

Atrial fibrillation is the most common type of irregular heart beat. It may cause no symptoms, but it is often associated with palpitations, fainting, chest pain, or congestive heart failure.

This study aimed to describe the incidence of atrial fibrillation among older adults. The study included 4,844 adults aged over 65 who were followed for an average of 3.28 years.

Regarding cholesterol levels, the study found for each increase of one mmol/L (38 mg/dL) of cholesterol the risk of atrial fibrillation was reduced by 14%.