DHEW pub. (NIH) 76-1083. Includes bibliographies.; Abstract: Data from the Framingham Heart Disease Study was compared with 4 other epidemiological investigations of cardiovascular disease in a National Institutes of Health report examining the role of major risk factors in coronary heart disease (CHD). Multivariable analysis of serum cholesterol, diastolic and systolic blood pressure, and cigarette usage in men aged 40-54 from the Framingham study established a Framingham risk function which predicted incidence rates of myocardial infarction or CHD death, death from all causes, and CHD death in the other 4 studies, despite inter-study differences. Thus, public health and medical professionals can use a multiple risk factor approach to predict cardiovascular problems. The report also emphasizes the need for epidemiological investigators to collaborate and pool data to obtain a large data base from which clinical conclusions can be drawn. Data is presented in tabular form; a bibliography and titles of other sections of the Framingham study are included.