Prevalence of ischaemic heart disease among the persons subjected to occupational radiation

Prevalence of ischaemic heart disease, infarction of myocard, lethality from myocardial infarction and acute coronary insufficiency among 631 patients been in the late period of chronic radiation sickness, 878 workers of radiochemical units subjected to occupational combined irradiation (mainly to external irradiation at doses exceeded 100 rad, i.e. 1 Gy) and 3541 people, who had not been subjected to occupational irradiation, was studied. The age of subjects was 40-69 years. Reliable variations in the prevalence and mortality between three groups of subjects were not found. In workers of radiochemical enterprise (4866 individuals), however, the morbidity of myocardial infarction was higher than in citizens of the town. Increase in morbidity of myocardial infarction and in the number of unexpected coronary deaths in the period from 1960 to 1979 (by five-year periods) was established. Such risk factors as - obesity, arterial hypertension, abuse of ethanol and hereditary predisposition effected on the prevalence of ischaemic disease.