Prognosis of men returning to work after first myocardial infarction.

THE PROGNOSIS after the first myocardial infarction is usually based on those living for 1 or 2 months beyond the acute attack. This paper is to report the prognosis of 202 railway operating employees who returned to full-time work following their first myocardial infarction. Cole and associates' found that of 285 patients who lived more than 2 months after their initial infarction, 66 per cent survived 5 years and 43 per cent 10 years. In a similar study Weiss and Gray2 reported on 484 patients and 61 per cent lived 5 years. Weiss3 followed 211 cases 10 years or more: 60 per cent lived 5 years and 37 per cent 10 years. Honey and Truelove4 reporting 348 cases indicated 61 per cent 5-year and 32 per cent 10-year survival rates. Juergens and associates5 found that of 224 patients who survived 1 month following the initial attack, 55 per cent lived 5 years and 29 per cent 10 years. Authors agree that those patients capable of returning to full-time activity after the initial infaret have the better prognosis. Fifty-nine of the 285 patients reported by Cole and associates' returned to full activity and 71 per cent lived 10 years or more. Seventy-one of those followed by Juergens and associates5 returned to complete activity and 73 per cent lived 5 years. In a 5-year followup of 431 men returning to some form of gainful employment after their initial myocardial infarction, Weiss and Weiss0 found that 22 per cent were dead and an additional 11 per cent had retired.