Community surveillance for coronary heart disease: the Framingham Cardiovascular Disease Survey. Methods and preliminary results.

The Framingham Cardiovascular Disease Survey was undertaken to test the hypothesis that a short-term surveillance study of a defined population could yield incidence data comparable to those obtained by an elaborate longitudinal study of the same population, at a fraction of the cost. New cases of coronary heart disease (CHD), congestive heart failure (CHF) and stroke occurring from June 15, 1970 through June 14, 1971, were detected by monitoring admissions to hospitals and nursing homes, reporting of new events by local physicians and perusal of death certificates, Necessary data on each case were collected and reviewed by a panel of physicians using strict diagnostic criteria. Incidence rates based on 332 CHD or CHF events were calculated and were found to be consistent with findings of the Framingham Heart Study. A one-year community surveillance study is an economical and reasonably accurate method of determining the incidence of CHD and CHF.