In 1978, a select Review Panel of biomedical and behavioral scientists met under the auspices of the NIH to evaluate the data linking the Type A behavior pattern to coronary heart disease. Based on the scientific evidence available to them in December, 1978, the members of the Panel issued a report in which they concluded that the Type A behavior pattern was an independent risk factor for coronary heart disease, of a magnitude similar to that of other established risk factors, such as cigarette smoking and serum cholesterol.