LARS WERKÖ, M.D.
Prevention of heart disease is critically reviewed. Although several risk factors have been identified that seem to characterize individuals most prone to later development of ischemic heart disease, no one has been able to show that interfering with these risk factors will decrease the incidence of the disease. A current population study indicates that removal of only one risk factor may have little or no impact on the overall morbidity or mortality in middle-aged men in Western societies. A multifactorial approach seems necessary to influence a disease that, like ischemic heart disease, is influenced by many environmental factors. The hypothesis that removal of several risk factors will decrease the incidence of ischemic heart disease in the community must be tested before any large-scale changes are advocated in our life style. Such a study is described. Changing social structure in the community, however, may be of larger importance for the prevention of ischemic heart disease than any medical intervention.
WERKÖ L. Can We Prevent Heart Disease?. Ann Intern Med. 1971;74:278–288. doi: 10.7326/0003-4819-74-2-278
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Published: Ann Intern Med. 1971;74(2):278-288.
DOI: 10.7326/0003-4819-74-2-278
Cardiology, Prevention/Screening.
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