| Abstract: | Myocardial infarction in the under-40s is rare. A series of 19 patients, 3.07% of a two-year series of coronary cases, is presented with a view to evaluating the incidence of risk factors, with special attention to familial factors and dyslipoproteinaemia. Risk factors are discussed together with the statistical importance of family aspects in two previous generations. Family factors and the abnormal lipoprotein profile are statistically important while other risk factors such as arterial hypertension, obesity and the use of oral contraceptive are insignificant. Cigarette smoking was a factor in more than 50% of cases and this strengthens the effects of other factors (obesity and hypertension) which, alone, do not appear to have any inductive importance in the genesis of coronary disease in this particular age segment. |
