In 1975 the National Heart and Lung Institute convened a Task Force on Genetic Factors in Atherosclerotic Disease to review what was known in the field and to identify fruitful research priorities for future study. The Task Force recommended utilizing existing genealogical files, sampling and studying large kindreds from a general population, evaluating both genetic and modifying factors, and encouraging collaborative studies by epidemiologists, biostatisticians and population geneticists.