Abstract
A pathological survey of atherosclerotic lesions was carried out on 7159 hearts and 2044 aortae from autopsy material. The results showed that: 1. The prevalence of coronary atherosclerosis was 41.65%, while that of coronary stenosis was 9.41%. Lesions of comparable severity occurred about 5-10 years earlier in age in specimens collected after 1949 in this study, as compared with those before 1949 as reported previously by others. 2. Fatty streaks of coronary artery were found in newborns, whereas fibrous plaques were identified in coronary artery in the 10-19 year group. The prevalence of coronary stenosis increased rapidly after 35 years of age by a rate of about 8.6% per year up to 55 years and declined thereafter. 3. The prevalence of coronary atherosclerosis was higher in males than in females, with a significant difference found in the 20-59 year groups. Coronary atherosclerosis was more frequently found in the left anterior descending branch than other branches including the left main trunk. The proximal segments of each branch are the sites of predilection. 4. The prevalence of aortic atherosclerosis was 76.71%. Atherosclerotic lesions appeared about 10 years earlier in the aortae than in the coronary arteries. 5. The prevalence of coronary atherosclerosis and stenosis was higher in the northern part of China than in the south and the occurrence of lesions showed a lag of about 10 years by age in the latter. The difference was statistically significant.
Published Version
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