This landmark autopsy study of US soldiers killed in Korea provided early evidence of the high prevalence of asymptomatic coronary artery disease in young adults.
The purpose of this paper is to describe and analyze the gross lesions found in the coronary arteries of United States soldiers killed in action in Korea. The histology will be discussed in detail in a subsequent paper as will such pertinent data as race, body build, and personal habits. MATERIAL Recently 300 autopsies were performed on United States battle casualties in Korea. Most of these soldiers were killed in action or suffered accidental death in front line areas. The coronary arteries were carefully dissected in all cases. No case in which there was known clinical evidence of coronary disease was included in this series. The average age in 200 cases was 22.1 years. The ages in the first 98 cases were not recorded except that the oldest patient was 33. In the entire series, the youngest recorded age was 18 and the oldest 48. FINDINGS In 77.3% of the
William F. Enos (1953) studied this question.