This project is for the maintenance of the specimen and data base emanating from the Pathobiological Determinants of Atherosclerosis in Youth (PDAY) and Risk Factors in Early Human Atherogenesis (RFEHA) studies (PDAY Archive) so that it can be used effectively by investigators for continued study of atherosclerosis during the next five years. PDAY and RFEHA were investigator-initiated multi-center cooperative studies based on a rigidly developed protocol, which had anatomically standardized samples of aorta and coronary arteries of 3,000 young black and white subjects, age 15-34, who died suddenly of trauma. Risk factor data was also obtained in a majority of the cases. So far these studies have yielded over 75 publications by the PDAY group. These reports in turn have generated a widespread enthusiastic response from investigators throughout the scientific community in the U.S. and abroad. Many of these investigators are currently utilizing or planning to utilize the PDAY Archive as a resource for their studies on atherosclerosis and coronary heart disease. This unique resource, the PDAY Archive, should continue to contribute in important ways to our understanding of atherosclerosis, the underlying cause of coronary heart disease (CHD) and most strokes. CHD and stroke are by far the leading cause of debilitating illnesses and death in this country.
