ABSTRACT

Although a few of the risk factors for coronary heart disease (CHD) are clearly beyond the control of the individual, a goodly number are directly linked to personal habits and lifestyle. Sex, advanced age, and family propensity are risk factors outside individual control, but contrasting with these is the risk attributed to serum cholesterol (dietary lipid quantity and quality), high blood pressure, smoking, sedentary lifestyle and type A behavior. In prospective epidemiological studies, fully half of the observed incidence of coronary heart disease i!' accounted for by the presence of only three of the controllable factors: arterial blood pressure, serum cholesterol, and smoking (Report of the Inter-Society Commission for Heart Disease Resources, 1970).