Coronary and aortic atherosclerosis in young men from Tokyo and New Orleans

Comparisons of atherosclerotic lesions in 25- to 44-year-old men from Tokyo, Japan and New Orleans, Louisiana, by age and cause of death, show significantly more extensive involvement with raised lesions in the coronary arteries and abdominal aorta of black and white men from New Orleans than in men from Tokyo. New Orleans white men have approximately 3-fold the raised lesion intimal surface involvement of their Japanese counterparts in both the aorta and coronary arteries. These findings suggest the need for more extensive and detailed comparisons of atherosclerotic lesions to provide the background information necessary for effective preventive efforts in these two industrialized, technically advanced societies.