The Ominous Silence in Coronary Artery Disease

With the advent of more extensive testing for coronary artery disease, much new information about the details of this condition has surfaced. It has been known for many years that myocardial infarction can be silent and recent epidemiologic studies indicate that 25 to 35 percent of infarcts can be silent. This silence, of course, in no way implies a better prognosis. Indeed, in the Framingham study results 10 years after the silent event (the infarct) 45 percent were dead as compared to 39 percent of those who had a typical symptomatic event.