What factors contributed to the decrease in U.S. deaths from coronary disease between 1980 and 2000?
Reductions in major risk factors and evidence-based medical therapies contributed equally to the decline in U.S. coronary heart disease deaths from 1980 to 2000.
Approximately half the decline in U.S. deaths from coronary heart disease from 1980 through 2000 may be attributable to reductions in major risk factors and approximately half to evidence-based medical therapies.
Ford et al. (2007) studied this question.