Myocardial ischemia screening in middle-aged and elderly men

In a primary prevention study of coronary artery disease (CAD), 164 men with risk factors (RFs) at the start of the study (1975-79) were examined from 1996 to 2002 with body surface mapping (BSM). Results were divided into two groups based upon prognosis, which allowed for statistical analysis. Seventy-one men (43.3%) had a benign prognosis (normal BSM + syndrome X), while 93 men (56.7%) had a severe prognosis (CAD moderate and advanced BSM). In univariate analysis, smoking had a statistically significant effect on CAD BSM pattern (p = 0.002), while hypertension (SBP) and total cholesterol had no significant influence on BSM. In multivariate analysis, the odds of smokers developing a CAD BSM pattern were 2.6 times higher compared with nonsmokers (p = 0.007). BSM results were partly related to SBP (p = 0.074) and men with a SBP > 140 mm Hg were 1.9 times more likely to develop a CAD BSM pattern than men having a normal SBP. No statistical significance was found for total cholesterol, and the reason for this result is discussed in comparison with the data from the long-term study. BSM results are compared with those obtained in two of our small angina pectoris studies (AP), where an ECG test was used.