The relative importance of selected risk factors for various manifestations of cardiovascular disease among men and women from 35 to 64 years old: 30 years of follow-up in the Framingham Study.

Substantial differences were noted in the risk profiles for various manifestations of cardiovascular disease (CVD) that occurred before the age of 65 during the first 30 years of follow-up of the 5070 subjects of the original Framingham cohort. Hypertension contributed most consistently to short-term risk of all manifestations of CVD. Differences were noted between the sexes and age groups in both the univariate and multivariate analyses. These patterns have biological, clinical, and statistical significance, particularly as they relate to the need for future studies to distinguish better between those factors that precipitate cardiovascular events and those that relate to the pathogenesis of the underlying atherosclerosis.