In the Warsaw Pol-MONICA area, which is inhabited by 274,000 people of ages 25-64, trends in total mortality showed increases similar to those for the whole of Poland. In Warsaw, mortality from cardiovascular disease in men and from ischaemic heart disease (IHD), myocardial infarction (MI), and cerebrovascular disease in both sexes decreased from 1976 to 1986, whereas trends for these diseases were increasing for the whole of Poland. Within the last 11 years, the MI attack rate and case-fatality rate increased in Warsaw. In the Warsaw male population, an increase in the majority of CHD risk factors was also observed. Age-adjusted mortality rates, MI attack and incidence rates, and stroke attack rates in Warsaw were all higher in men than in women. The mean values of HDL cholesterol and LDL cholesterol, Quetelet's index, and prevalence of hypercholesterolaemia in Warsaw were higher in women than in men, whereas the mean values of triglycerides, diastolic blood pressure, and number of cigarettes smoked as well as prevalence of hypertriglyceridaemia, hypertension, and smoking were higher in men.