Premium
Electrocardiograms in the Busselton Population
Author(s) -
Cullen K. J.,
Murphy B. P.,
Cumpston G. N.
Publication year - 1974
Publication title -
australian and new zealand journal of medicine
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.596
H-Index - 70
eISSN - 1445-5994
pISSN - 0004-8291
DOI - 10.1111/j.1445-5994.1974.tb03199.x
Subject(s) - medicine , population , suspect , depression (economics) , demography , cardiology , environmental health , sociology , political science , law , economics , macroeconomics
Summary: In 1972, electrocardiograms were recorded on members of the Busselton community and classified according to nine major categories of the Minnesota code. Men showed a higher prevalence of abnormalities than women except for ST depression in 60–69 year old women. Comparisons with the 1959‐60 Tecumseh population revealed a significantly lower prevalence of T waves and tall R waves in Busselton people, and a tendency to fewer abnormal Q waves, abnormal ST segments and ectopic beats in Busselton men. The moderate prevalence of Q waves in Busselton compared with elsewhere is consistent with lower death rates from CVD observed in Busselton men over 60 years compared with urban men in Australia. Concerning the predictive value of including electrocardiography in mass health examinations, Busselton's 1966 ECGs were classified into one of three categories—those with either no evidence of ischaemic heart disease (IHD), with suspect IHD, or with probable IHD. All subjects have since been followed for six years. In those with evidence of suspect IHD, the annual death rates for heart attacks in men and women between 1967‐72 was 7–9 times that of those whose ECG showed no evidence of IHD. Men with probable IHD suffered about 20 times the annual risk and women about 47 times the risk of those whose ECG showed no evidence of IHD.