[Myocardial function 3 years after myocardial infarct in patients of working age (clinico-instrumental study)].

Among 100 males examined 3 years after recovery from myocardial infarction 23% had progressive cardiac insufficiency which was found mostly in individuals who had been engaged in physical work before the infarction. In 1/3 of patients who had no obvious clinical signs of cardiac insufficiency, tolerance to physical exertion was reduced (rather more frequently in individuals who were engaged in physical work). The results of echocardiography bore evidence that left-ventricular contractile function was diminished in patients of all subgroups, even in those with no clinical signs or cardiac insufficiency and with high tolerance to physical exertion. The authors believe that the poorest prognosis in persons who were engaged in physical work is linked with the fact that they, more often than individuals engaged in mental work, were inclined to ignore the state of their health and therefore took no advantage of the available long-term dispensary service.