ABSTRACT
Coronary atherosclerosis is multifactorial in its aetiology. The Framingham Study has shown a clear correlation between certain identifiable risk factors and the subsequent development of cardiovascular events in predisposed individuals. A prospective study was carried out to document and analyse the presence of all the major risk factors in a population of patients with an acute myocardial infarction. One hundred and three patients were included in the study comprising of 84 males and 19 females with an average age of 57.6 years. Overall hypercholesterolemia was found in 42%, cigarette smoking in 52% of males, hypertension in 16% and hypertriglyceridemia in 31% of the patients. Obesity was present in 29%, diabetes mellitus in 13%, and a family history of Coronary Artery Disease [CAD] was detected on 10% of the patients studied. At least 82% of the patients had at least one identifiable risk factor. This confirms the significant presence of conventional risk factors in this prospectively studied population of patients with myocardial infarction