 Background: Atherosclerosis and its consequences - coronary heart disease and stroke - are principal causes of mortality in developed countries. Being able to accurately predict an individuals risk of vascular disease is needed for preventive strategies and measuring the effectiveness thereof. Current risk assessment tools are imperfect at best. It is possible that information from gene expression profiling of peripheral white blood cells may add predictive information about vascular risk. We previously identified a panel of 78 genes in the peripheral blood that correlated with an individuals future risk of stroke. We hypothesize that gene expression in white blood cells will be modified by an intervention that has been shown to reduce vascular risk via anti-inflammatory mechanisms: the 3-hydroxy-3-methylglutaryl coenzyme A HMGCoA reductase inhibitor class of lipid lowering drugs, known as statins. The vascular protective effects of statins appear to be due in part to immune modulation and to be dose-dependent. Statin administration has been shown to modulate gene expression in peripheral blood mononuclear cells in vitro. 