Incidence of Cardiovascular Disease

[Guest guest]

Hi folks:

What an absolutely STUNNING diagram (imo) below.

Two introductory points:

1. I hope the link below for the .gif diagram will work. If it

doesn't then please find it (which will not be easy!) in the source

quoted.

2. If anyone has good reason to believe I have misinterpreted the

meaning of the data in the diagram, or that my introductory remarks

immediately following are wide of the mark, then PLEASE speak up.

Introductory remarks

By definition, as I understand it, the data for the 'incidence of'

cardiovascular disease do **not** mean: " the percentage of the

population with 'plaque' in their arteries " .

They mean: " the percentage of the population whose arteries are *so*

clogged with plaque that finally they are beginning to experience

symptoms sufficient to cause them to visit their doctor about it. "

One of Bill Clinton's arteries, we are told, was 95% clogged before

he had symptoms he felt warranted a visit to the doctor.

Autopsies of many teenage soldiers who died in the Korean and Vietnam

wars found considerable evidence of deposits in their arteries, which

would, of course, only have gotten worse as time passed. But no one

would think to include people with that degree of stenosis within the

accepted definition of those with 'incident cardiovascular disease'.

So if the definition was : " what percentage of the population already

has plaque deposited in their arteries? " the answer for most age

groups - then as well as now - would be not far short of 100%.

The data in the diagram show the percentage of the population at

various ages whose arteries are so clogged as to have caused them to

turn up in a clinic complaining of symptoms. Here is the link to the

diagram:

http://circ.ahajournals.org/content/vol115/issue5/images/medium/24FF2.

gif

The diagram appears in this publication:

http://circ.ahajournals.org/cgi/content/full/CIRCULATIONAHA.106.179918

The diagram shows the following percentages have overt, symptomatic,

cardiovascular disease:

~15% of males aged around 30.

40% of both genders aged around 50.

Roughly three-quarters of the population aged around 70.

And 83% of males and 92% of females aged over 80.

To repeat .......... these are not the percentages with some

degree of arterial stenosis or other CVD issues. They are those with

symptoms resulting from it which are severe enough to be under the

care of a doctor for it.

The data for those over 80 years of age underline the not universally

appreciated fact that in the United States (and many other countries)

more women die of cardiovascular disease than men. For example, in

the US in 2001 374,280 white males died of it, compared with 433,867

white females.

The purpose of this post is to show how huge the health burden is

that can be lifted from the shoulders by CR. The data underline the

importance of the WUSTL subjects' 0.5 mm average carotid IMT scores,

about 40% better than the reading widely regarded as thoroughly

healthy.

Rock on, folks!

Rodney.