ABSTRACT
A representative samples of 484 185 subjects 30-59 years were examined within the Cardiovascular Program of the Slovak Republic in the years 1978-1989. The results of the study concerning the occurrence and trends of selected cardiovascular diseases and their risk factors are presented in the paper. Within the given age range 20% of the population were found to suffer from one or more cardiovascular diseases. In the selected cardiovascular diseases the following prevalence was found: arterial hypertension in 10.7%, myocardial infarction in 0.6%, angina pectoris in 0.9%. The selected risk factors exhibited the following prevalence: diabetes mellitus in 4.0%, obesity in 32.3%, smoking in 28.3%, and hypercholesterolemia in 17.6%. Information on the occurrence and trends of cardiovascular diseases as well as on their interrelationship with risk factors is and essential prerequisite for efficient primary and secondary prevention. (Tab.10,Fig.13,Ref.33).
Subject(s)
Coronary Disease/epidemiology , Hypertension/epidemiology , Adult , Angina Pectoris/epidemiology , Czechoslovakia/epidemiology , Female , Humans , Male , Middle Aged , Myocardial Infarction/epidemiology , Prevalence , Risk FactorsABSTRACT
Early screening of subjects liable to develop cardiovascular diseases is one of the main tasks of preventive cardiology of child age. The authors present a rational programme for the screening and diagnostic of hypertension in children, its aim being to differentiate primary and the most frequent secondary forms of hypertension; this will create prerequisites for its adequate treatment (non-pharmacological and pharmacological) as well as for dispensarization. Review.
Subject(s)
Hypertension/diagnosis , Adolescent , Child , Humans , Hypertension/etiologyABSTRACT
The authors discuss problems of the correct assessment of the diagnosis of the main cause of death in the appropriate form, based on results of 228 doctors of different specialities. They assessed the agreement between the diagnosis of the main cause of death made by doctors of different specialities and the pathologist and whether the entry was correct from the formal aspect. Of all 2185 diagnoses 52.3% were correct, 46.3% incorrect and 1.4% were not entered on the form. Of all 1012 incorrect diagnoses 62.9% were incorrect as regards their content and 37.1% as to the place of entry on the form. In complicated cases only 18.2% diagnoses were correct. With regard to the revealed facts the authors recommend to investigate the morbidity by causes separately for those subjected and not subjected to post-mortem examinations. The authors also make suggestions how to improve the reliability of data on the main cause of death.
Subject(s)
Cause of Death , Death Certificates , Diagnostic Errors , Humans , Medicine , SpecializationABSTRACT
A total of 127 patients, divided into two groups, were examined; one was made up by patients with dilated cardiomyopathy (D-CMP) (n: 32), the other one by patients with myocarditis and pericarditis ("other cardiopathies") (n: 95). A control group of healthy subjects (n: 278) consisted of blood donors. Infection with Coxsackie viruses (B1, B2, B3, B4, B5, B6, A7, A9) was followed up serologically using virus-neutralizing antibodies and/or IgM class virus-specific antibodies. Actual Coxsackie virus infection was demonstrated in almost half of patients. Seventeen (53.1%) out of the 32 D-CMP patients (with a negative history of Coxsackie virus infection) had a positive serological finding. The most frequently isolated Coxsackie virus was, B4. In the group of "other cardiopathies", a positive serological finding was in 42 patients (44.2%) with the incidence of B1 and B4 viruses being the highest and identical. Compared with data obtained in healthy controls, the incidence of Coxsackie virus infection in the two follow-up groups of patients was statistically highly significant (p less than 0.001).
Subject(s)
Cardiomyopathy, Dilated/diagnosis , Coxsackievirus Infections/diagnosis , Myocarditis/diagnosis , Pericarditis/diagnosis , Adult , Antibodies, Viral/analysis , Cardiomyopathy, Dilated/immunology , Coxsackievirus Infections/immunology , Cross-Sectional Studies , Enterovirus/immunology , Female , Humans , Male , Middle Aged , Myocarditis/immunology , Neutralization Tests , Pericarditis/immunologyABSTRACT
The frequency of actual infections by selected types of coxsackie virus (B1-B6, A7, A9) has been followed up in adult patients hospitalized for reason of heart disease. Criteria of actual coxsackie virus infection have been defined, including a significant rise of titer of virus neutralizing antibodies and/or presence of virus-specific IgM antibodies. An actual coxsackie virus infection has been found in 71 (46.3%) out of 153 patients. Most frequently coxsackie B1 virus infection (24 times) and B4 (17 times) could be proved. In sera of patients with actual coxsackie virus infection, a higher proportion of infection with some types of coxsackie viruses, along with the presence of antibodies against a larger number of coxsackie virus types has been found, as compared to sera from patients without actual coxsackie virus infection, and/or, in sera of healthy blood donors (control group). The role of repeated infections with different types of coxsackie virus in the etiology of heart disease has been discussed.
