CHANGES OF ISCHEMIC-HEART-DISEASE IN UTSUNOMIYA, JAPAN, OVER 10 YEARS- A SURVEY OF PRIMARY-CARE PHYSICIANS

A total of 502 patients presenting in Utsunomiya city and its suburbs during a 10-year period were studied to determine the clinical feature s of ischemic heart disease and to identify coronary risk factors. The male/female ratio was 1.21, but the ratio decreased with increasing a ge. The duration of chest pain showed a continuous spectrum between an gina and infarction, with a short duration of chest pain not being use ful for excluding the diagnosis of myocardial infarction. Hypertension was more common than hypercholesterolemia in this study although the prevalence of the latter increased slightly with time, along with the shift towards a modernized occupational pattern. Smoking was a more im portant risk factor for ischemic heart disease in younger individuals than in the elderly, and diabetes mellitus was highly associated with the development of myocardial infarction. The incidence of radiologica lly diagnosed cardiac hypertrophy and aortic calcification decreased o ver time. These changes may have resulted in part from improved blood pressure control and the development of new antihypertensive and chole sterol-lowering agents.