ABSTRACT
Coronary heart disease (CHD) is the central component of a broad spectrum of disease
conditions affecting the heart and circulation, collectively termed atherosclerotic cardiovas-
cular disease, that progress dramatically as age advances. Although CHD in all its clinical
manifestations contributes significantly to disability and death throughout life, its toll is
heaviest in the elderly (1-7). Because there is a substantial paucity of epidemiological
information regarding both the development and prevention of CHD in the elderly, a thorough
evaluation of the role of risk factors for CHD in older persons and the potential benefits of
their amelioration would represent an important contribution to the clinical and preventive
management of this disease in a large segment of the United States and world population.
