The Etiology of Myocardial Infarction.

Abstract

In 1915, Sir William Osler, in his article on arteriosclerosis in the Osler System of Medicine, attributed this disorder chiefly to the "wear and tear of life." "Overuse (of the arteries) leads to degeneration; in time they grow old—the limit of their endurance is reached and they wear out." It is only fair to add that essentially the same view has generally been held until relatively recently. This simple concept is now outdated. The purpose of the present volume is to examine the role of the numerous factors that are now considered to be of possible significance in the etiology of myocardial infarction and of its most important immediate cause, coronary atherosclerosis. It is rather astonishing that, in a symposium devoted to the question of the etiology of myocardial infarction, there is not a single paper on the role of diet in producing the plasma lipid disturbances that are thought