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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 street who have it are essentially the same. >> that is kind of surprising. right? because you'll hear people exchanging their cholesterol numbers. if it is low they seem quite pro...

Street who have it are essentially the same. >> that is kind of surprising. right? because you'll hear people exchanging their cholesterol numbers. if it is low they seem quite proud of it. if it is high, there's cause for concern. you say that that's -- you know what? you're not looking in the right place. >> that's essentially useless. >> here's what does matter, he says. the size of your ldl, or bad cholesterol particles. larger ldl particles don't pose much of a threat because they pass through the blood vessels without sticking. it is the smaller ldl particles that are more likely to lodg...

everywhere you look, it seems a heart attack is just waiting to happen. more than 1 million heart attacks a year. that's one just about every 30 seconds. just in the united states. if you haven't had a heart attack yourself, you likely know someone who has. i've got a secret to share. with what we know right now, we could see the last heart attack in america. i've been investigating this for over a year. i've got lessons to share, things you need to know. things your doctor may not tell you. i'm a pretty typical guy in his early 40s with a family history of heart disease. so i deci...

things you need to know. things your doctor may not tell you. i'm a pretty typical guy in his early 40s with a family history of heart disease. so i decided to go on a mission to never have a heart attack. but how? dr. arthur agiston has guaranteed he can see trouble coming. >> this is the lining -- >> reporter: he is using an ultrasound to look for plaque in the artery leading to my brain. it could cause a stroke and would be a sign of an increased risk for heart attack. >> unless you do the imaging and the advanced testing, you are really playing russian roulette with your life. ...

someone who has. i've got a secret to share -- with what we know right now? we could see the last heart attack in america. i've been investigating this for over a year. i've got lessons to share, things you need to know, things your doctor may not tell you. i was lucky i didn't die of a heart attack. >> reporter: former president clinton, like too many people, was busy. and for years he ignored warning signs from his heart. but in 2004, during an exhausting book tour, there was something different. >> i had a real tightness in my chest when i was getting off the airplane and the on...