INTRODUCTION: Insertion/deletion (I/D) polymorphism of the angiotensin-convertingenzyme (ACE) gene influenced the plasma concentration of the ACE, and is D allele have been repetitivelysuggested as a risk factor for myocardial infarction (MI). MATERIAL AND METHODS: Two hundert thirty sixmale myocardial infarction survivors under 65 years and with body mass index and total plasma cholesterollevels under 95% of the Czech population were included in the study. As control group, 302 male controls(1% randomly selected group from the Czech population) were genotyped. I/D polymorphism in the ACE genewas determined using polymerase chain reaction. RESULTS: The prevalence of the I/I, I/D and D/D genotypeswas 0.218, 0.494 and 0.288, in the control group, and 0.178, 0.538 and 0.284, in the myocardial survivors,respectively. The male Czech population has the similar frequency of insertion and deletion alleles comparedto other Caucasian populations. The frequencies of the alleles and genotypes of the ACE gene did notdiffer significantly between MI survivors and a control sample of the Czech population. CONCLUSION: Itwas shown that the I/D polymorphism in the gene for ACE is not a genetic risk factor for myocardial infarctionin the Czech population.

Keywords: Blood Pressure, Body Mass Index, Cholesterol, Comparative Study, Czech Republic, DNA Transposable Elements, Gene Deletion, Genotype, Lipoproteins, HDL Cholesterol, Lipoproteins, LDL Cholesterol, Peptidyl-Dipeptidase A, Polymorphism, Genetic, Reference Values, Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov, Survivors, Triglycerides