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Since 1988 health professionals in the ARIC communities have contributed
to the ARIC study by answering and returning our questionnaires. With
authorization from our participants we contact their physicians to learn
more about their health. The physician’s input is very important
for good quality of data in the ARIC study when a member of the ARIC cohort
or a resident of the ARIC study community develops a cardiovascular event.
The information provided by the physician helps us in classifying these
cardiovascular events. For instance, a physician’s report of a prior
history of heart disease in his/her patient is very valuable to us in
applying the standardized ARIC study criteria in classifying such events.
In turn, the use of a standardized way of classifying events is important
to our ability to measure the burden of heart disease comparably in the
four ARIC study communities, and to meaningfully estimate temporal changes
in heart disease and stroke despite evolving diagnostic and treatment
practices.
An example of the way in which the study uses the information contributed
by the health practitioners in the ARIC study communities can be seen
in the section on ARIC Stats.
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