Geographic variations in coronary heart disease. A perspective on risk factors and prevention.

Mankind's greatest epidemic: heart disease--ischemic heart disease or coronary heart disease (CHD)--has reached epidemic proportions striking more and more at younger subjects. It will result in coming years, in the greatest epidemic mankind has faced unless we are able to reverse the trend by concentrated research into its causes and prevention. Under the auspices of the World Health Organization the [executive] board expressed a wish that countries most affected by cardiovascular diseases increase their efforts, both to set up efficient services for control and to carry out more extensive research programs (20).