Significance of the Deletion Polymorphism of the Angiotensin Converting Enzyme Gene as a Risk Factor for Myocardial Infarction in Japanese.

An association study of the insertion/deletion (I/D) polymorphism of the angiotensin converting enzyme (ACE) gene with myocardial infarction (MI) was performed in middle-aged Japanese men. The DD genotype was significantly more frequent in 101 MI subjects (0.42) than in 102 matched control subjects (0.16) compared with the two other genotypes (IDandII) (p<0.00005). A significant association was observed not only in the low-risk group but also in the high-risk group who were defined according to plasma total cholesterol ≥ 220mg/dl and body mass index ≥ 26kg/m2. These results indicate that ACE/DD genotype is a potent and important risk factor for MI in Japanese. (Hypertens Res 1994; 17: 55-57)