Lifetime risk of acute myocardial infarction in Japan.

The incidence and mortality from coronary heart disease (CHD) in Japan are reported to be among the lowest of all industrialized countries,1,2 but, in the backdrop of major dietary changes and worsening cardiovascular risk factors,2 recent reports have shown an increasing trend of acute myocardial infarction (AMI) in the Japanese population.3,4 With the aging of the population and the presence of unfavorable cardiovascular risk factor scenario, AMI is likely to be an increasingly important health burden in Japan. Thus, prevention of AMI requires urgent attention. Lifetime risk (LTR) is an epidemiological measure that expresses the probability of disease in the remaining lifetime for an index age. Estimation of the LTR of AMI, which provides an absolute risk assessment, has not yet been reported for the Japanese population. In the present study, we estimated the shortand intermediate-term risks and LTR of AMI in a Japanese population.