Jews are far more susceptible than non-Jews to myocardial infarction–commonly known as heart attack–according to a study released by Beth Israel Hospital here. It is believed that the Beth Israel physicians’ study is the largest published report on the subject from a single hospital.
The study of the disease, which was described as the death of a segment of heart muscle due to an inadequate blood supply brought on by one of several processes such as coronary occlusion or coronary thrombosis, represents the work of 18 physicians. It showed that even though less than 50 percent of all the patients at Beth Israel during the seven-year study were Jewish, almost 77 percent of the patients with this type of heart ailment were Jewish.
Dr. Irving L. Applebaum ascribed the high incidence of the disease among Jews to two main factors. The first factor, he said, was the large number of Jews who have diabetes, “a disease which this study shows to be related to myocardial infarction.” The second, he believes, is that various sociological pressures create “certain emotional states relating to this disease.”
The Archive of the Jewish Telegraphic Agency includes articles published from 1923 to 2008. Archive stories reflect the journalistic standards and practices of the time they were published.
