CONTEXT: Elevated nonfasting triglycerides indicate the presence of remnant lipoproteins, which may promote atherosclerosis. OBJECTIVE: To test the hypothesis that very high levels of nonfasting triglycerides predict myocardial infarction (MI), ischemic heart disease (IHD), and death. DESIGN, SETTING, AND PARTICIPANTS: A prospective cohort study of 7587 women and 6394 men from the general population of Copenhagen, Denmark, aged 20 to 93 years, followed up from baseline (1976-1978) until 2004. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: Hazard ratios (HRs) for incident MI, IHD, and total death according to baseline nonfasting triglyceride level categories of 1 to 1.99 mmol/L (88.5-176.1 mg/dL), 2 to 2.99 mmol/L (177.0-264.6 mg/dL), 3 to 3.99 mmol/L (265.5-353.0 mg/dL), 4 to 4.99 mmol/L (354.0-441.6 mg/dL), and 5 mmol/L or more (> or =442.5 mg/dL) vs triglyceride levels of less than 1 mmol/L (