Why choice of metric matters in public health analyses: a case study of the attribution of credit for the decline in coronary heart disease mortality in the US and other populations

Table 2 Life expectancies (e_x) assigned to US men and women in 2000, comparing those who have not progressed to clinical CHD ('healthy') with those who have survived an acute myocardial infarction without the onset of heart failure and those who progress to heart failure

Age (x)	Life expectancy at exact age (e_x)
	Healthy population¹	Those who have survived an AMI by 30 days (excluding those with HF*)²	Those who have survived an AMI by 30 days but remain in HF* ³
MALES
30	45.9	28.0	14.8
40	36.7	28.0	7.4
50	27.9	14.6	5.2
60	19.9	9.7	3.6
70	13.0	6.8	1.8
80	7.6	4.1	1.5
90	4.1	2.6	1.2
100+	2.4
FEMALES
30	50.6	28.0	14.8
40	41.0	28.0	7.4
50	31.8	14.6	5.2
60	23.1	9.7	3.6
70	15.5	6.8	1.8
80	9.1	4.1	1.5
90	4.8	2.6	1.2
100+	2.7

* Heart failure
¹ Source: US Government Actuary's Office [17]
² Source: Based upon median survival estimated from case fatality data obtained from MediCare [4]
³ Source: Based upon median survival estimated from case fatality data obtained from [4]

ISSN: 1471-2458