| Abstract: | A sample consisting of 2,252 persons among 20,199 Los Angeles civil service employees was observed for the occurrence of heart disease. The first examination measured the prevalence. Based upon the diagnosis of 165 cases of heart disease, the prevalence was 73 per 1,000 persons examined. Two reexaminations, at intervals of 12 to 18 months, of persons with normal heart on the first examination were carried out and 52 additional cases were diagnosed. There were also 13 deaths of heart disease in persons first diagnosed as having normal heart, making a total of 65 "new" cases (36.6 per 1,000) during the 30-month period of observation. An annual estimated heart disease incidence of 15 per 1,000 appears reasonable. Based on 89 deaths, the cardiovascular disease death rate was 11 per 1,000 among persons entering the study with normal heart, and 133 per 1,000 persons diagnosed as having heart disease at entry. The ratio of newly diagnosed cases to deaths of heart disease was 4 to 1.Among men diagnosed as having normal heart there was little difference in death rates whether their jobs were physically strenuous or sedentary. Among the men with heart disease, however, the highest death rates are observed among those employed at sedentary jobs and at light exertion. This may, of course, be an indication of the employee's selection of the job rather than the effect of inactivity. The relative usefulness of minifilm x-ray, electrocardiograms and questioning as to history were considered. |
