Korean Circ J.  1976 Dec;6(2):1-15. 10.4070/kcj.1976.6.2.1.

Cardiovascular Diseases in Korea

• Kim SY
• Lee SH

• KMID: 1667922
• DOI: http://doi.org/10.4070/kcj.1976.6.2.1

Abstract

Statistical observation was made on the 1949 patients with cardiovascular diseases who had been treated in Dept. of Internal Medicine, Seoul national University Hospital during the period of four years, from jan. 1972 to Dec. 1975. 1) The patients wth cardiovascular diseases accounted for 20.2% out of total 9,638 medical inpatients. The incidence for the consecutive years was not apparently variable. 2) The diseases occured most frequently in the sixth decades and the incidence decreased in the order of fifth and seventh decades. 3) The disease was more prevalent in male than female with ratio of 1.3 of 1. 4) The hypertension was the most common disease among cardiovascular diseases, accounting for 67.5% of patients with cardiovascular diseases and 13.6% of total medical inpatients. The disease occurred most frequently in the sixth decades and the incidence decreased in the order of fifth and seventh decades with male preponderance. 81.8% of patients with hypertension was essential hypertension and 18.2% was secondary hypertension. Secondary hypertension was caused by parenchylmal renal diseases in most patients and there were only several patients with renovascular and endocrine hypertension. 40.2% of patients with essential hypertension had no complications, 38.6% had cerebral vascular accidents, 12.1% had uremia and 9.1% had congestive heart failure. The patients with malignant hypertension was 9.6% of total patients with hypertension. 5) Rheumatic heart disease was 14% of patients with cardiovascular diseases, being second in incidence. It was more prevalent in female than male with ratio of 1 male to 1.3 female and affected the mitral valve in most of the cases, whereas involvement of aortic valve was rare. 6) The coronary heart disease was 5.3% of patients with cardiovascular diseases, being third in incidence. It occured most frequently in seventh and sixth decades and affected male two times more frquently than female. 7) The congenital heart disease was 2.9% of patients with cardiovascular diseases, of which atrial septal defect was highest in incidence. 8) The cor-pulmonale was 1.4%, pericarditis 1.4%, endocarditis 0.9%, postpartum heart disease 1.2%, myxedematous heart disease 0.2%, arrhythmia 2.1%, peripheral vascular disease 1.1% and miscellaneous 0.6% of patients with cardiovascular diseases. 9) Postpartum heart failure and endocarditis was remarkably decreased in incidence recently and there were one patients with beriberi heart disease and one patient with syphilitic heart disease during those years of this study.

MeSH Terms

Aortic Valve
Arrhythmias, Cardiac
Beriberi
Cardiovascular Diseases*
Coronary Disease
Endocarditis
Female
Heart Defects, Congenital
Heart Diseases
Heart Failure
Heart Septal Defects, Atrial
Humans
Hypertension
Hypertension, Malignant
Incidence
Inpatients
Internal Medicine
Korea*
Male
Mitral Valve
Pericarditis
Peripheral Vascular Diseases
Postpartum Period
Rheumatic Heart Disease
Seoul
Uremia