Arterial pressure and the risk factors in the 20- to 59-year-old male population (an epidemiological autopsy study in Riga)

1447 autopsies (87% of all deaths in the region) of males at the age from 20 to 59 years were analysed regardless of the cause of death. The first place among the causes of death belongs to the coronary heart disease and cerebrovascular pathology--31.7%. The prevalence of the arterial hypertension in the population was 14.2%, hypercholesterolemia --17.6%, smoking--82.7%, excess of body weight--8.6%, increased thickness of subcutaneous fat--39.4%, low physical activity--40%, diabetes mellitus--3%. The death from cardiovascular diseases among persons with hypertension was considerably more frequent that among persons with normal pressure. Systolic and diastolic arterial pressure was significantly higher in persons with the excess of weight, increase of fat thickness, hypercholesterolemia as well as in the group with coronary disease and cerebrovascular pathology as compared to the mean values in whole population.