冠心病是目前西方最常见的早死原因;在许多国家,它的发病率还在不断增加。在美国,每5个男性就有一个在60岁前发生症状,每3个男性中有一名将出现某种类型有症状的动脉疾患。因急性心肌梗塞而引起的早死约占40%。在65岁以前,男性死于冠心病者是女性的4倍。大多数死亡病人死于医院之外,来不及就诊。在不少病例,猝死是 Coronary heart disease is the most common cause of premature death in the West; in many countries, its incidence is still on the rise. In the United States, one out of every five men develops symptoms before the age of 60, and one out of every three men presents with some type of symptomatic arterial disease. Early death due to acute myocardial infarction accounts for 40%. By the age of 65, men die of coronary heart disease four times more than women. Most deaths die outside the hospital and are too late for treatment. In many cases, sudden death is