Objective — to study of cardiovascular risk factors in patients who had coronary heart disease (CHD) and live in highlands. Subjects and methods. The investigation enrolled 165 people, including 127 men and 38 women. According to the examination results, the people were divided into 2 groups: 1) 111 CHD patients, including 88 (79%) men and 23 (21%) women, within which an individual subgroup of 62 post-MI patients (58 men and 4 women) was identified; 2) 54 patients, including 39 (72%) men and 15 (28%) women, in whom CHD had not been detected during examinations. The participants of both groups were sex- and age-matched: the mean age was 54.8±2.3 years in Group 1 and 60.5±1.7 years in Group 2. All the patients underwent questionnaire-based interview to identify behavioral risk factors, as well as laboratory, clinical, and instrumental examinations. Results. Smoking both at the moment of examination and according to history data was the most important risk factor for CHD in the mountain-dwellers of Karachiai-Cherkessia. There were more current and former smokers in the CHD group than those in the control group 77 (69%) and 29 (54%) people, respectively; p<0.05). There were 50 (81%) current and former smokers among the 62 post-MI patients. The proportion of those who had quit smoking was larger in the CHD group (22%) than in the control group (10%). Among the post-MI patients, there were 52% of the examinees who had stopped smoking. During this investigation, 47 patients with CHD, including 29 post-MI patients, smoked; there were 44 smokers in the control group. 36% of the CHD patients, 40% of the post-MI patients, and 19% of the healthy individuals had a balanced diet (p<0.05). There were no significant differences between the examined groups in the levels of exercise and stress. In the CHD group, the mean values of total cholesterol, high-density lipoproteins (HDL), low-density lipoproteins (LDL), triglycerides, apolipoprotein A1, apolipoprotein B, and lipoprotein(a) were not substantially different from those in the non-established CHD group. None of 26 CHD patients taking statins achieved the target levels of LDL (<1.8 mmol/l) and non-HDL cholesterol (2.6 mmol/l). Among the men, there were more hypertensive patients in the CHD group (58%) than in the comparison group (39%) (p<0.05). The women had hypertension in 83 and 60% in these groups, respectively (the differences were insignificant). In all the groups, the men and women had no significant differences in the mean blood pressure (BP). In the CHD patients, including post-MI ones, receiving antihypertensive therapy, the mean BP was 145/91 mm Hg in the men and 166/96 mm Hg in the women. In the comparison group, these values were 152/96 and 158/96 mm Hg, respectively. The proportion of the persons who had achieved BP goals was 32% (n=11) of those on antihypertensive therapy in the CHD group and 13% (n=1) in the comparison group. No significant differences were found between the groups in body mass index and waist circumference. Obesity was detected in 45% of the CHD patients (including post-MI ones) and in 43% of the non-CHD patients. In the CHD group, the waist circumference was 100.7±2.5 cm for the men and 101.4±4.9 cm for the women; in the healthy individuals, this indicator was 98.3±3.5 and 97.3±7.3 cm for the men and women, respectively.