[National Research Program 1A: incidence and nature of thoracic pain in 4 Swiss towns].

The Rose-Questionnaire on chest pain has been administered to 7755 male and female inhabitants of four Swiss cities (Aarau, Solothurn, Nyon, Vevey). One third of these persons complained of some form of chest pain. Of these, 50-80% were of a nonspecific type, varying by age and sex. 1.5-4.9% of all persons or 5.1-15.7% of all symptomatic participants complained of a pattern typical for ischemic heart pain. The prevalence of ischemic pain increases with age and is partly related to risk factors identified at a physical examination, especially to hypertension. Sex differences are noted, however there were no differences between language regions (French, German). The morbidity from coronary heart disease in the Swiss population can be estimated at roughly 1%.