Ischemic heart disease and pulmonary ventilatory function

The results of spirometric examinations on 4,331 Israeli male civil service employees, aged 45 years or more, were analyzed according to the presence or absence of certain aspects of ischemic heart disease. Vital capacity was lower in individuals with a previous history of a heart attack, in those with definite or suspected angina pectoris and in those with ECG evidence of myocardial ischemia, probable or possible myocardial infarction, left bundle branch block or nonspecific T wave changes than in subjects without these findings. The differences were small, but statistically significant. Vital capacity was lower in subjects with a recent history of a heart attack (within three years) than in those whose heart attack had occurred more than three years prior to the examination. The ratio of forced expiratory volume in the first second to forced vital capacity was not significantly different between individuals with or without a past history of heart attack, angina pectoris or ECG evidence of coronary heart disease.