Table 1.

Participant Characteristics and Descriptions of Variables at the Time of Spousal Death

Characteristics	Married Sample (n=593)	Bereaved Sample (n=593)	p Value, married vs. bereaved
Age, mean (SD), years	77.75 (5.67)	77.77 (5.69)	0.96
Range (median), years	66–95 (77.0)	66–95 (77.0)
Sex			>.99
Women	430 (72.5)	430 (72.5)
Men	163 (27.5)	163 (27.5)
Race
White	555 (93.6)	559 (94.3)	0.25
Black	36 (6.1)	31 (5.2)
Asian/Pacific Islander	0 (0)	2 (0.3)
American Indian	2 (0.3)	0 (0)
Other	0 (0)	1 (0.2)
Prevalent disease, overall	184 (31.0)	193 (32.5)	0.31
Angina pectoris	119 (20.1)	130 (21.9)	0.48
Myocardial infarction	61 (10.3)	68 (11.5)	0.58
Bypass	32 (5.4)	37 (6.2)	0.31
Congestive heart failure	49 (8.3)	55 (9.3)	0.61
Intermittent claudication	13 (2.2)	14 (2.4)	>.99
Stroke	42 (7.1)	49 (8.3)	0.51
Transcient ischemic attack	21 (3.5)	33 (5.6)	0.06
Subclinical disease, overall	208 (35.1)	210 (35.4)	0.48
Rose questionnaire for claudication	5 (0.8)	10 (1.7)	0.29
Rose questionnaire for angina	15 (2.5)	15 (2.5)	>.99
Ratio of ankle to arm blood pressure	63 (10.6)	57 (9.6)	0.63
Right and left ankle to arm blood pressure indicating atherosclerotic obstruciton to blood flow in the legs; measured in clinic, ≤ 0.90
Major ECG abnormality	157 (26.5)	175 (29.5)	0.27
Measured during baseline ECG, any of the following: ventricular conduction defects, major Q/Qs wave abnormalities, left ventricular hypertriphy, isolated major ST-T-wave abnormalities, atrial fibrillation, or first-degree antriocentricular block
Carotid stenosis	244 (41.1)	239 (40.3)	0.81
Measured during baseline carotid ultrasound for left or right: carotid stress > 25th percentile
No prevalent or subclinical disease	201 (33.9)	190 (32.0)	0.27

Notes. All data are presented as number (percentage) unless otherwise indicated.

EEG= electrocardiogram.