Participating studies (8–14) were prospective cohort studies that had multiple cardiovascular and aging phenotypes in common and that had genome-wide scans completed or in progress in 2007–2008 (Table 1). Briefly, the AGES-Reykjavik Study represents a sample drawn from the established population-based cohort, the Reykjavik Study (8). The original Reykjavik Study comprised a random sample of 30,795 men and women living in Reykjavik in 1967 and born between 1907 and 1935. Over the years 1967–1996, 6 examinations were conducted in 6 subcohorts. Between 2002 and 2006, the AGES-Reykjavik study re-examined 5764 survivors of the original cohort. The ARIC study is a population-based prospective cohort study of cardiovascular disease and its risk factors sponsored by National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute (NHLBI). ARIC included 15,792 individuals aged 45–64 years at baseline (1987–89), chosen by probability sampling from four US communities (9). Cohort members completed four clinic examinations, conducted three years apart between 1987 and 1998. Follow-up for clinical events is annual. The CHS is a population-based NHLBI-funded cohort study of risk factors for cardiovascular disease in adults 65 years of age or
