ABO blood groups and ischaemic heart disease in men.

In 1954 Gertler and White found a significant deficit of group 0 patients in a series of 81 young male survivors of myocardial infarction. Between 1961 and 1966, a further 9 series of survivors of myo- cardial infarction were reported, and in 7 of these there was again a deficit of O's, the deficit being slight in 3 of the series but significant in 4 (Table Furthermore, Jaegermann (1962) found, in a series of 828 fatal cases, a significant excess of A's pre- disposed to ischaemic heart disease in general, as evidenced by early or well-marked atheromatous changes in the coronary arteries.