Atherosclerosis in Japanese in Japan and in Hawaii: a summary review of pathology studies in Honolulu and Hiroshima.

The mortality rate from heart disease is much higher among the Japanese of Hawaii than those of Japan. A comparison of autopsy specimens from men who died in Honolulu and Hiroshima indicated that this difference can be explained by more frequent myocardial infarcts in the Hawaii population. The basis for this difference can, in turn, be explained by the presence of more severe degrees of coronary atherosclerosis among the Hawaii men. The mortality rates for stroke, on the other hand, are higher among the indigenous Japanese than among Hawaii Japanese men. The basis for this difference cannot be explained on the basis of atherosclerosis of the aorta or of the circle of Willis. This report summarizes the comparative anatomic studies of coronary arteries, aorta and circle of Willis that form the basis for these conclusions.