Secondary prevention for coronary artery disease

BACKGROUND: Secondary prevention of coronary artery disease is effective in reducing morbidity and mortality, but deficiencies in implementation and prescription bias have been identified. AIM: To assess progress in secondary prevention measures for coronary heart disease and whether there was a difference between patient subgroups with angina, post myocardial infarction or revascularization. DESIGN: Retrospective analysis. METHODS: Between 1997 and 2001, data were collected on prophylactic prescribing, demographic and lifestyle information, at baseline and 1 year following attendance at a hospital-based, cardiac-nurse-led out-patient clinic. RESULTS: Patients (n = 945) were entered into the database at hospital discharge and 619 (72%) attended at 1 year. Aspirin and statin prescribing increased, though ACE inhibitor use was less. Mean total cholesterol at baseline reduced to 4.92 +/- 0.11 mmol/l (p < 0.001) in 2000, with a further reduction to 4.59 +/- 0.08 mmol/l at the 1-year visit in 2001 (p < 0.001). The proportion of patients with total cholesterol < 5 mmol/l increased to 38% in 2000, reaching 70% in 2001. Smokers at baseline were similar at around 30%, although this had reduced to 10% in 2001 (p < 0.001). No change in weight was seen for patients with BMI >or=30 (p = NS). No significant differences were seen between patient subgroups (p = NS). DISCUSSION: Secondary prevention measures are improving, especially in prophylactic prescribing, lipid management and smoking cessation, although scope for further improvement remains. No difference was seen between the patient subgroups. Lifestyle measures need to be addressed to gain maximum benefit in addressing overall cardiovascular risk.