MORTALITY PATTERNS AMONG PARENTS OF PATIENTS WITH ATHEROSCLEROTIC CEREBROVASCULAR DISEASE

The parental mortality of 40 patients with atherosclerosis of the carotid artery was compared with that of control groups of patients with myocardial infarction and non-vascular diseases. The patients with carotid disease not only had a significantly higher parental mortality from all causes, but also had an increased incidence in which both parents died of vascular diseases. This familial aggregation may be due in part to genetic factors related to the higher frequency of hypertension and diabetes among the patients with carotid artery disease. Whether these predisposing illnesses had a significant effect on the increased parental mortality due to vascular disease or whether other inherited factors were present remains to be determined. © 1969.