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MORTALITY.
General Mortality.
From the table which sets out the causes
of death for 1959 (page 46 ), it will once again be seen
that diseases of the heart and circulation made up by
far the greatest single cause of death. This is in
keeping with the national situation, and is a most
disturbing feature of modern life. The causes of
coronary occlusion - the disease with which we are
particularly concerned - are complex and not yet fully
understood. It was formerly thought that the stresses
and strains associated with life to-day was the main
factor. Now-a-days, although this factor is still
believed to play a significant part, the role of essential
fatty acids in producing atherometa or placques in the
tiny coronary arteries which feed the heart, are also
considered to have great significance. Much work is
being done in this field, in order to establish more
clearly the precise causes of coronary diseases and the
steps which can be taken to reduce the appalling loss of
life which occurs in middle and late middle age, especially
among males. Once again, deaths from cancer of the
lung and cancer of the bronchus have increased, another
factor which gives rise to much anxiety. So much has
been said and written on this subject that it would
appear unnecessary to dwell on the factors which may be
contributing to this unhappy rise. One certainly
cannot say that there are any specific factors existing
in Friern Barnet which encourage coronary thrombosis
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