[Riskfactors and coronary morphology in 218 patients with myocardial infarction under 40 years of age (author's transl)].

With 218 postinfarction patients under 40 years of age who all underwent coronary angiography, the question in priority is: Can myocardial infarction in young age be characterized by special constellation of risk factors and by specific coronary morphology? Compared with results from literature the risk factors hypertension and diabetes seem to be of less importance than in older patients, smoking on the other hand seems to be more significant: 90.5% of postinfarction patients under 40 years of age were smoking regularly. Coronary angiography proved a pre-domination of 1-vessel disease: 72% showed 1-vessel, 17.9% 2-vessel and 10.1% 3-vessel disease. These findings and those from literature show that the majority of patients with myocardial infarction in young age have the following characteristics: In connection with the risk factor smoking the sclerotic coronary vessel process is developing rapidly, very often at a single spot. Since no longterm gradual occlusion process occurs, no prolonged period of angina pectoris precedes the infarction. There is no time for the development of an adequate collateral circulation; it follows that the infarction is a large one. After the acute infarction there is no angina pectoris.