2.1. Subjects
deaths, death, drug/alcohol abuse
DISEASE, BLOOD, HEART, MYOCARDIAL INFARCTION
The population studied in this sub-study was recruited from a rural municipality in Sweden where all inhabitants aged between 70 and 88 years were invited to participate in an epidemiological project in 1996. Out of the 1130 individuals in the chosen age stratum, 875 agreed to participate. In 2003, all the surviving participants were offered the opportunity to participate in a new project. Of the 675 still living in the municipality, 443 accepted participation in a dietary supplementation project with selenium and coenzyme QBefore starting the intervention, the selenium concentration in the population was found to be 67 μg/L (SD 16.8), which approximates to a daily intake of about 35 μg, which is far below the level which is considered necessary for optimal physiological function (≥100 μg/L) [The participants received 200 mg/day of coenzyme QIn this sub-analysis, 220 individuals were randomised to active intervention, while 221 individuals were randomised to placebo.At inclusion, one of three experienced cardiologists examined all the participants, a new history was taken and a new clinical examination was performed. Blood pressure was measured, and assessment of functional class according to the NYHA (New York Heart Association) classification was carried out. An electrocardiogram and a Doppler-echocardiogram were performed. The echocardiogram was performed with the participant in the left lateral position, and the cardiac function (EF) was categorized into four classes, with the following inter-class readings: 30%, 40% and 50% [The exclusion criteria for the main project were: recent myocardial infarction; planned cardiovascular operative procedure within four weeks; hesitation concerning whether the candidate could decide for him/herself to participate in the study or not, or doubt about whether he/she understood the consequences of participation; serious disease that substantially reduced survival or when it was not expected that the participant could cooperate for the full four-year period; other factors making participation unreasonable; or drug/alcohol abuse [All CV mortality was registered for the study participants for a follow-up period of 10 years. Mortality information was obtained from the National Board of Health and Welfare in Sweden, which registers all deaths of Swedish citizens based on death certificates or autopsy reports. All patients provided written informed consent.