THE CARDIAC-INFARCTION INJURY SCORE AND CORONARY HEART-DISEASE IN MIDDLE-AGED AND ELDERLY MEN - THE ZUTPHEN STUDY

The Cardiac Infarction Injury Score (CIIS), based on electrocardiographic characteristics, was developed as a measure to determine the presence of myocardial infarctions. In the present study the association of the CIIS with coronary morbidity and mortality was investigated among middle-aged and elderly men. A cohort of 877 men, born between 1900 and 1919, was followed and repeatedly examined from 1960 onwards. In 1985 the remaining cohort was extended to 836 elderly men from the same birth cohort, and followed until 1990. In both middle-aged and elderly men with high CIIS the prevalence of (silent) previous myocardial infarction and the occurrence of ST-T abnormalities were increased. Five-year relative risks of men with CIIS 20 or more relative to men with CIIS <5 were 2.2 (95% confidence interval: 1.2-4.1) for angina pectoris, 2.4 (1.4-4.0) for myocardial infarction and 5.8 (3.4-9.9) for coronary heart disease death. Thus, the CIIS is associated with risk of coronary heart disease in apparently healthy middle-aged as well as elderly men.