[Observations on the current status concerning the epidemic of acute myocardial infarction]

After the mortality from acute myocardial infarction had reached its peak in 1972, a decrease started which by now, taking into account the increase and the greying of the population, already amounts to 33%. Nevertheless, in 1987 as many as 19,168 deaths were still recorded. When after World War II the mortality rose, it was found that the victims included a growing proportion of younger persons. Currently, however, the decrease of mortality in general is most pronounced among the younger age groups. Among the patients treated in hospital, mortality shows an evenly distributed decrease. The admission rates from the populations of commuter municipalities and from rural areas are relatively low, those from medium-sized municipalities with an urban character, relatively high.