a blockage here would cause a stroke and would be a sign i'm at increased risk for heart attack. >> unless you do the imaging and advanced testing, you are really playing russian roulette with your life. >> your body needs cholesterol. actually makes it. it is in the lining of every cell in your body. the liver sends out ldl cholesterol and when everything works right the good, hdl, salvages excess ldl and brings it back to the liver. you also get cholesterol in foods, things like meat, french fries, eggs, butter, desserts, ice cream. your cholesterol number is a good measure of what's in the blood. but here's the problem -- it doesn't tell if you it is building up in the walls of your blood vessels forming plaque. it's the plaque that causes heart attacks. >> if you look in the coronary care unit at people that have heart attacks, the cholesterol levels of those who have heart attacks versus those in the