Occurrence of acute myocardial infarction in Stockholm studied by two different methods

Two studies on the occurrence of acute myocardial infarction (AMI) in Stockholm have been made. In one, the study population consisted of patients who attended a health-control station; cases of AMI were detected retrospectively by a mail questionnaire and by the official cause-of-death register. In the other study, the population comprised the total population of Stockholm county; cases of AMI were detected from routine information on hospital care, and from the official cause-of-death register. The aims of the present study were to compare the two methods for detection of AMI cases and to compare the AMI morbidity of the two populations. The mail questionnaire method missed a small number of cases but, on the other hand, the register method included some cases in which the diagnostic criteria were not fulfilled. The AMI morbidity in the two populations did not differ significantly.