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Relatively limited contemporary information is available about the magnitude of, and factors associated with, the metabolic syndrome in adult men and women. The purpose of our observational study was to describe the prevalence and predictors of the metabolic syndrome in a sample of employed adults attending a worksite cardiovascular screening program. The study sample consisted of 871 men and women between the ages of 21 and 77 years from 6 locations of the parent company. These individuals attended an employer-sponsored cardiovascular screening and wellness program during 2003. A standardized questionnaire was administered to all study participants and a number of different coronary risk factors were measured. Approximately 27% of the study sample was classified as having the metabolic syndrome. Men, persons with a history of hypertension, heart disease, or stroke, sedentary individuals, and those with an increased heart rate and higher levels of C-reactive protein were associated with presence of the metabolic syndrome. A relatively similar risk factor profile was noted in persons without a self-reported history of prior cardiovascular disease. The results of our cross-sectional observational study suggest that the prevalence of the metabolic syndrome is considerable. A number of demographic, comorbid, and other factors are associated with this syndrome. Increased attention to the metabolic syndrome, and modification of predisposing factors, remains of considerable public health and clinical importance.

Coronary angiography was performed in i6 patients with a primary myocardial disease, Bantu cardiomyopathy. Two patients had discrete coronary occlusion, presumed embolic from ventricular mural thrombus. There was no evidence of coronary atheroma and all the vessels and their proximal intramural branches were large. The total cross-sectional area of the proximal coronary arteries correlated with left ventricular muscle mass. The coronary angiograms were also used to study left ventricular function.

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Ten-year survival and event-free survival were similar in patients with stable and unstable angina pectoris treated by coronary balloon angioplasty, with no evidence of an increased rate of recurrent cardiovascular events in the unstable group.