Definition: MONICA

Category: Health

MONICA is a project established by the WHO to provide a cross-sectional and longitudinal comparison of cardiovascular disease (coronary heart disease event registration is obligatory, stroke optional), and to relate these to risk factor changes in the population over a ten year period. This monitors trends over 10 years, across 37 populations in 21 countries. It was set up to explain the diverse trends in cardiovascular disease mortality, which were observed from the 1970s onwards. The total population aged 25-64 years being monitored is 10 million men and women. Registers identify non-fatal definite myocardial infarction and definite, possible, or unclassifiable coronary deaths in men and women aged 35-64 years, followed up for 28 days in or out of hospital. MONICA calculates rates from population denominators to estimate trends in age-standardised rates and case fatality (percentage of 28-day fatalities = [100-survival percentage]).