This project is for the maintenance of the specimen and data base, the PDAY Archive, emanating from the Pathobiological Determinants of Atherosclerosis in Youth (PDAY) and Risk Factors in Early Human Atherogenesis (RFEHA) studies so that the Archive can continue to be used effectively by investigators for study of atherosclerosis. 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 100 publications. These reports in turn generate a widespread enthusiastic response from investigators throughout the scientific community in the U.S. and abroad. Many investigators are currently utilizing the PDAY specimen and data base as a resource for their studies on atherosclerosis and coronary heart disease. This unique resource, the PDAY Archive, continues to contribute in important ways to our understanding of atherosclerosis, the underlying cause of coronary heart disease and most strokes, which are by far the leading cause of debilitating illnesses and death in this country.
