Long-Term Epidemiologic Prediction of Coronary Disease

Atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease is a complex problem involving lipid deposition, pressure, rheologic forces, carbohydrate tolerance and thrombogenesis. The major contributors identified through epidemiologic research include atherogenic personal attributes, living habits which promote them, signs of a compromised coronary circulation and host susceptibility to these risk factors. Of the atherogenic risk attributes, such as blood lipids, blood pressure, glucose tolerance and fibrinogen, each independently contributes to risk, and the risk associated with any one is compounded by the presence of the others. The risk associated with hypertension, hyperlipidemia or diabetes varies widely depending on the level of associated risk factors. Also, at a given level of total cholesterol, risk is greatly affected by the total/HDL cholesterol ratio, which provides a practical means for assessing the two-way traffic of cholesterol. In addition, living habits, such as cigarette smoking or lack of exercise, can independently affect the risk associated with any of the atherogenic traits. These living habits, obesity and diet can also affect the level of atherogenic risk factors and must be