BACKGROUND:

The study was needed because evidence in 1991 suggested that cardiovascular risk factors which had been identified by studies of middle-aged populations did not have the same predictive value in the elderly; especially the "oldest old" aged 75 and above.

DESIGN NARRATIVE:

The study analyzed data that had been collected over the years. At the time of the analysis, mortality follow-up was complete for over 99 percent of subjects, and incident morbidity information was available for myocardial infarction, coronary bypass surgery and stroke. The database included measurements which allowed: 1) prospective analyses of the effects of putative cardiovascular risk factors on disease incidence in the elderly, 2) prospective analyses of the impact of change in risk factors on events in the elderly, 3) exploration of risk factors not classically associated with cardiovascular events in younger populations but which may be important in the very old, and, 4) cross-sectional description of putative risk factors in an aged population.