[The significance of "coronary risk" for life insurance].
In many countries heart and circulatory diseases are still the commonest cause of death (over 50%). This is particularly important for the life insurer because heart and circulatory diseases, including coronary heart disease, represent a relatively important risk in life insurance and that is often difficult to insure against. With the help of some diagrams (from the literature), an attempt is made, firstly to demonstrate the epidemiological relationships between "risk factors" and coronary heart disease, and, secondly, to show the relationship between the extent and localisation of arteriosclerosis in the coronary vessels and its influence on mortality, which is decisive for the life insurer. In the last three decades, new and more favourable factors for the insurability of coronary heart disease have come into existence. This circumstance is being and has been increasingly taken into account in risk assessment for life insurance. To the degree that the significance of the coronary heart disease risk for the life insurer has decreased, the acceptance of coronary risks has increased. There are three factors, above all, that determine the insurability of coronary heart disease: a) the age of the insuree; b) the presence of "cardiac risk factors"; c) the state of the coronary vessels of the insuree (existence of corresponding clinical findings).