Pendragon, the link between CVD and a high fat diet *if you're obese* is rock solid -- high fat is undoubtedly an independed risk factor for CVD if your BMI is above about 29. One of the big "lies" of the traditional eating recommendation has been that high fat in non-obese people independently of other factors contributes to disease. There really isn't much that supports that. High saturated fat and/or trans fats is bad for you either way, but high fat itself isn't, unless you're obese. When Atkins (and other diets) pointed out this "lie," it somehow gained him a lot of credibility, but people misinterpret what it means. It DOESN'T mean that high fat is "good" for you, even if you're not obese. High fat diets typically make you obese (merely due to high calory intake), for one, and that's clearly not good for you. High fat diets are also typically deficient in vegetables (and therefore fiber) and low fiber diets are associated with all sorts of gastrointestinal misgivings. Nevertheless, it is possible to eat a high fat diet that isn't provably detrimental to your health, as long as you're fit, your daily calories are acceptable to your lifestyle, you're eating enough whole foods (like fiber etc) to keep your GI happy and your nutrient/mineral requirements fulfilled, and your fat is <10% saturated. Why it matters that this fact wasn't specifically highlighted in the science behind the food pyramid is sorta beyond me: I guess people just like hearing that "fat isn't necessarily bad" and take it to mean "don't worry about how much fat you eat."
It's hard, but not impossible, to eat a healthy high fat diet.