In 1953 a report from the Armed Forces Institute of Pathology reported a 77% prevalence of coronary atherosclerosis among US soldiers killed in the Korean War. This revolutionary study demonstrated that atherosclerosis was present in a large number of young patients without clinical evidence of heart disease. A new study aimed to estimate the current prevalence of coronary and aortic atherosclerosis in the US armed forces, to assess the impact of risk factor reduction and lifestyle measures.<\/p>\n
This was a cross-sectional study of all US service members who died of combat or unintentional injuries between October 2001 and August 2011. Coronary atherosclerosis severity was classified as: minimal (fatty streaking only), moderate (10%-49% luminal narrowing of 1 or more vessels), and severe (>49% narrowing of 1 or more vessels).<\/p>\n
Of the 3832 service members included, the mean age was 25.9 years and 98.3% were male. 8.5% showed evidence of any coronary atherosclerosis, and severe coronary atherosclerosis was found in only 2.3%. Those with atherosclerosis were significantly older than those without (30.5 years vs. 25.3 years; P<.001), and a greater prevalence of dyslipidaemia, hypertension, and obesity was noted.<\/p>\n