Serial changes in ECG findings and blood pressure were studied in 134 residents over 40 years old in an urban area of Fukuoka City (Male 42, Female 92), who had taken the health examination in the years of 1968 and 1973, and at least two electrocardiograms were available.
Records of health examination were also analysed in 26 residents who took the health check in 1968 and died of cerebrovascular diseases or heart diseases during the next five years.
1) The normotensives were Male 78%, Female 48% in forties and Male 27%, Female 38% in sixties, and the rate of normotensives decreased as the age increases. After five years, the rate of boundary hypertensives decreased and the rate of the systolic hypertensives increased.
2) Of the ECG findings of age group, incidence of slight ST-T abnormalities were significantly high in females of fifties and sixties, but the findings of left ventricular hypertrophy were found in 26.2% of males and in 21.7% of females, with insignificant difference. With the time course of five years, slight ischemic changes in ECG were significantly increaed in females of forties and fifties, when compared with males of the same age group.
3) The mean QRS and T vectors of the normotensives with normal ECG group decreased of their magnitude during the five years course. QRS vector rotated clockwisely left, backward and upward. T vector had the tendency to shift counter-clockwisely right, forward and upward.
4) The QTC became longer among the normal group during five years, and it was more apparent among the hypertensive and ischemic change groups.
5) The order of causes of deaths in five years in this district was (1) cerebrovascular diseases, (2) malignant neoplasmas, (3) heart diseases, (4) deaths of exogenous-causes, and (5) liver cirrhosis.
Among the deceased during this period who took the health examination in 1968, 16 persons died of cerebrovascular diseases (cerebral hemorrhage 12 cases, encephalomalacia 4 cases) and 10 persons died of heart diseases.
i) There were only two cases of encephalomalacia and cerebral hemorrhage among those who were found without abnormalities at the health examination. And the rest of 24 had been all diagnosed as having hypertension, or hypertensive or ischemic heart diseases.
ii) The residents who died of cerebrovascular disease were mostly hypertensives (normotinsive 13%) and the systolic hypertension was noted in four cases (25%). Whereas, of heart disease group, the normotensives were four among ten cases, and no systolic hypertensives were noted.
iii) Of cerebrovascular disease group, five among 16 cases had normal ECG findings at the first check, and ischemic changes were noted only in 3 cases (19%). In contact, in heart disease group, two of the ten cases had Q, QS pattern in ECG and 9 cases had ischemic changes. Thus, the importance of blood pressure measurement and ECG in health examination was reemphasized.
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