Five-year follow-up of resting and postexercise phonocardiogram in asymptomatic persons

Phonocardiograms were recorded in 200 clinically normal adults, mean age 51 +/- 6 years, at rest and after a double Master's test. Five-year follow-up clinical data was obtained in 199 of these 200 subjects. The resting fourth heart sound correlated with the subsequent development of coronary heart disease within 5 years (p = 0.036). Neither the postexercise fourth heart sound nor the resing or postexercise third heart sound showed any correlation with the subsequent development of coronary heart disease within 5 years.