Table 3 presents data on risk factors and associated
diseases for 144 AMI patients and 144 paired patients with
gallbladder disease. Hypertension and diabetes (32 per cent
versus 17 per cent) were more frequently seen in AMI
patients. Hypertension, known to be increasing in prevalence
among the Navajo, was noted in 28 per cent of 1976-79
patients and 42 per cent of 1980-83 AMI patients. Among ageand
sex-matched gallbladder patients, hypertension was
observed in 5 per cent during the first time period and 20 per
cent during the second. Obesity was diagnosed in 21 AMI and
seven GB men; thus demonstrating a substantial association
somewhat lessened when both sexes are combined. Twenty
AMI patients (24 per cent) in 1980-83 also had chart-review
criteria for gallbladder disease, and 15 (18 per cent) of
gallbladder patients met criteria for ischemic heart disease,
other than AMI, during the study period.