Mortality surveillance in the U.S. Army, 2005-2011.

Purpose: Mortality rates in the U.S. Army from 2005 to 2011 were examined over time and compared to the U.

Prevalence of and risk factors for autopsy-determined atherosclerosis among US service members, 2001-2011.

Context: Autopsies of US service members killed in the Korean and Vietnam wars demonstrated that atherosclerotic changes in the coronary arteries can appear early in the second and third decades of life, long before ischemic heart disease becomes clinically apparent.

Objective: To estimate the current prevalence of coronary and aortic atherosclerosis in the US armed forces.

Design, Setting, And Participants: Cross-sectional study of all US service members who died of combat or unintentional injuries in support of Operations Enduring Freedom and Iraqi Freedom/New Dawn between October 2001 and August 2011 and whose cardiovascular autopsy reports were available at the time of data collection in January 2012.