Prevalence of nonfatal coronary heart disease among American adults

Background Few national estimates of the prevalence of coronary heart disea se in the United Stares are available. Methods By using data from the Third National Health and Nutrition Examinat ion Survey (1988 to 1994), we estimated prevalence of angina pectoris by qu estionnaire, self-reported myocardial infarction, and electrocardiographica lly (EGG)-defined myocardial infarction. Results Among participants aged greater than or equal to 40 years who atten ded the medical examination, the age-adjusted prevalence of angina pectoris , self-reported myocardial infarction, and EGG-defined myocardial infarctio n were 5.8% of 9255; 6.7% of 9250, and 3.0% of 8206 participants, respectiv ely. Among participants aged greater than or equal to 65 years compared wit h those aged 40 to 64 years, the prevalence of a self-reported myocardial i nfarction was more than 3 times higher and that of EGG-defined myocardial i nfarction more than 4 times higher. The prevalences of self-reported myocar dial infarction and EGG-defined myocardial infarction, but not angina pecto ris, were higher among men than women. Among women, prevalence of angina pe ctoris and self-reported myocardial infarction were highest among blacks; a mong men, these coronary heart diseases were somewhat higher among whites. Prevalence of EGG-defined myocardial infarction were similar for all 3 race or ethnicity groups in either sex. The age-adjusted prevalence of coronary heart disease defined by the presence of any of these conditions was 13.9% among men and 10.1% among women. Conclusions Although the management of coronary heart disease has improved during the past 2 decades, it remains an important prevalent disease burden among adults.