Most common prodromal symptoms:
(1) chest pain or angina
(2) increasing fatigue
(3) indigestion, heartburn or other gastrointestinal symptoms
Less common symptoms:
(1) excessive breathlessness
(2) ear or neck pain
(3) vague malaise
(4) upper respiratory tract infection
(5) dizziness and/or palpitation
(6) severe headache (associated with intracranial hemorrhage)
Risk factors for coronary artery disease in the patients:
(1) cigarette smoking
(2) family history of early myocardial infarction
(3) hypertension
(4) history of angina or previous myocardial infarction
(5) hypercholesterolemia
(6) diabetes mellitus
where:
• Obesity is not listed in Table 4 (Northcote page 201), but seems reasonable to include.
Conditions found at autopsy:
(1) coronary artery disease
(2) valvular heart disease
(3) cardiac arrhythmia
(4) hypertrophic cardiomyopathy
(5) intracranial hemorrhage
