Biochemical and clinical characterization of urban black Africans with myocardial infarction.

It is widely accepted that the occurrence of myocardial infarction (MI) among Black South Africans is much lower than that of South Africans of European or Asian ancestry. Over the past decade, this disease among Black Africans in urban areas appears tc be increasing. The prevalence of MI among Black Africans admitted fo Baragwanath Hospital (BGH) over a four year period (1984-1987) was determined by computer identification of all patients demonstrating elevated creatine kinase isoenzymes. Diagnosis of MI was confirmed by reviewing the hospital bedletters