Related Experiment Video

Updated: Jun 26, 2026

Highlighting and Reducing the Impact of Negative Aging Stereotypes During Older Adults' Cognitive Testing
06:58

Highlighting and Reducing the Impact of Negative Aging Stereotypes During Older Adults' Cognitive Testing

Published on: January 24, 2020

Adverse consequences of the 50% misconception

William B Kannel1, Ramachandran S Vasan

  • 1Framingham Heart Study, Framingham, MA, USA. billkannel@yahoo.com

The American Journal of Cardiology
|January 27, 2009
PubMed

Insights

Most coronary artery disease cases are linked to major risk factors, not just 50% as commonly believed. Focusing on these modifiable factors offers significant potential for global disease reduction.

Area of Science:

  • Cardiovascular epidemiology
  • Public health research
  • Preventive cardiology

Background:

  • Commonly cited figures suggest only 50% of coronary artery disease (CAD) incidence is attributable to major risk factors.
  • This study critically reviews existing literature to reassess the contribution of these factors.

Discussion:

  • Published research indicates that 75% to 90% of CAD incidence across diverse populations can be explained by standard modifiable risk factors.
  • This finding challenges the widely accepted lower attribution rate.

Key Insights:

  • The majority of coronary artery disease incidence is explained by established modifiable risk factors.
  • Current understanding may underestimate the impact of these factors on population health.

Outlook:

  • A more intensive focus on conventional risk factors and associated lifestyle behaviors is crucial.
  • Implementing rigorous strategies targeting these factors holds substantial promise for reducing the global burden of coronary artery disease.

Related Concept Videos

Stereotype Threat and Self-fulfilling Prophecies02:09

Stereotype Threat and Self-fulfilling Prophecies

When we hold a stereotype about a person, we have expectations that he or she will fulfill that stereotype. A self-fulfilling prophecy is an expectation held by a person that alters his or her behavior in a way that tends to make it true. When we hold stereotypes about a person, we tend to treat the person according to our expectations. This treatment can influence the person to act according to our stereotypic expectations, thus confirming our stereotypic beliefs. Research by Rosenthal and...
The Availability Heuristic01:08

The Availability Heuristic

A heuristic is a general problem-solving framework (Tversky & Kahneman, 1974). You can think of these as mental shortcuts that are used to solve problems. Different types of heuristics are used in different types of situations, and the impulse to use a heuristic occurs when one of five conditions is met (Pratkanis, 1989):
Confirmation Biases01:31

Confirmation Biases

The confirmation bias is the tendency to focus on information that confirms our existing beliefs and ignore information that is inconsistent with our expectations. For example, if you think that your professor is not very nice, you notice all of the instances of rude behavior exhibited by the professor while ignoring the countless pleasant interactions he is involved in on a daily basis. Have you ever fallen prey to the confirmation bias, either as the source or target of such bias?
Groupthink01:34

Groupthink

When in group settings, we are often influenced by the thoughts, feelings, and behaviors around us. Groupthink is another phenomenon of conformity where modification of the opinions of members in a group aligns with what they believe is the group consensus (Janis, 1972). In such situations, the group often takes action that individuals would not perform outside the group setting because groups make more extreme decisions than individuals do. Moreover, groupthink can hinder opposing trains of...
Fundamental Attribution Error01:14

Fundamental Attribution Error

According to some social psychologists, people tend to overemphasize internal factors as explanations—or attributions—for the behavior of other people. They tend to assume that the behavior of another person is a trait of that person, and to underestimate the power of the situation on the behavior of others. They tend to fail to recognize when the behavior of another is due to situational variables, and thus to the person’s state. This erroneous assumption is called the fundamental attribution...
Self-Discrepancy and Its Effects01:29

Self-Discrepancy and Its Effects

Self-discrepancy theory explains how people compare their actual self to their ideal and ought selves and how mismatches between these self-guides can lead to emotional distress. Developed by E. Tory Higgins, the theory distinguishes among three components of self-concept: the actual self, the ideal self, and the ought self. These refer respectively to how individuals perceive themselves, how they aspire to be, and how they believe they are obligated to be. Emotional well-being, self-esteem,...