Copyright © 2004 by the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health
PRACTICE OF EPIDEMIOLOGY |
Invited Commentary: Will Heart Attacks Be "Gone with the Century"?
From the Mayo Foundation, Rochester, MN.
Received for publication July 19, 2004; accepted for publication August 16, 2004.
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INTRODUCTION |
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A frequently quoted editorial by Brown and Goldstein (1) speaks to the importance of myocardial infarction trends as indicators of progress in the battle against heart disease. Indeed, the increase in life expectancy in developed societies compounds the burden of coronary disease in the later stages of life, which has a major impact on the health of the US population. Population-based trends in disease rates are the final measures of the effect of interventions aimed at reducing the burden of disease. This underscores the importance of careful monitoring of coronary heart disease trends for public health, policy-making, and health economics. Myocardial infarctions are an essential component of the burden of coronary disease. While they do not represent all manifestations of the disease, the existence of established criteria amenable to standardization have made myocardial infarction one of the indicators of choice for tracking coronary disease over time.
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MONITORING TRENDS WITH HOSPITAL DATA |
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The conceptual
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NEW CRITERIA, NEW CHALLENGES |
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IMPLICATIONS AND FUTURE DIRECTIONS |
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  W. D. Rosamond, L. E. Chambless, P. D. Sorlie, E. M. Bell, S. Weitzman, J. C. Smith, and A. R. Folsom Rosamond et al. Respond to "Are Heart Attacks Gone with the Century?" Am. J. Epidemiol., December 15, 2004; 160(12): 1150 - 1151. [Full Text] [PDF]
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