Prevalence of atherosclerosis of the aorta in Ethiopians: a postmortem study.

The study showed that some type of atherosclerotic lesions of the aorta were found in 58 (47%) of 124 autopsies examined. Fatty streak was found in 41 (32%), fibrous plaque in 28 (23%), calcified lesions in 7 (6%) and complicated lesions in 5 (4%) cases. Fatty streak was found only in 23% of the cases below the age of 20 years. It was the dominant lesion below the age of 60 years in both the thoracic and abdominal aorta. Fibrous plaque was not found below the age of 30 years but a rapid increase in prevalence occurred by the age group of 40-49, reaching peak level of 80% by the age of 70-79 years. Complicated and calcified lesions started to appear in the thoracic and abdominal aorta by the age of 40-49 years, with a rapid increase in prevalence after the age of 60 years. The study demonstrated clearly that atherosclerotic lesions of the aorta are definitely present in nearly half of the autopsied Ethiopians aged 10 years and upwards.