BACKGROUND:

There are many compelling reasons to study heart disease in the Native Alaskans. These Eskimo villages are remote and isolated. The traditional lifestyle is being eroded by mechanization and a westernized diet. There has been relatively little outside genetic influence and they are, like the American Indians of the lower 48 states, beginning to show a marked acceleration in the prevalence of atherosclerosis and coronary artery disease.

DESIGN NARRATIVE:

The study is a family-based, cross sectional study. Recognized and emerging risk factors and prevalent cardiovascular disease are documented in each individual through a standardized interview, physical exam, laboratory measurements, carotid ultrasound, ECG, and a review of centralized medical records. Assays will be made of contemporary samples and serum specimens stored at the Anchorage Center CDC antedating this study (10 to 20 years ago) for specific markers of inflammation and serologic responses. Through a ten-centimorgan genetic map, attempts will be made to find specific genes that relate to cardiovascular disease.

The study uses standard methods to assess risk factors relating to lipid metabolism, hypertension, and diabetes mellitus. Importantly, the study also uses state-of-the-art methods for detection of infectious disease exposure, specifically to C. pneumoniae, cytomegalovirus, and other infectious agents hypothesized to play a role in atherogenesis. A case-control age-matched design is used to analyze the infectious disease burden.