Reducing the risk of recurrent coronary heart disease

BMJ 1999;318:1499-1500 ( 5 June )

Editorials

Reducing the risk of recurrent coronary heart disease

We know a bit more about what doesn't work

General practice p 1522

The first 150 words of the full text of this article appear below.

We know that coronary heart disease is the commonest cause of avoidable mortality in Britain and Ireland, that Britain's positionin the league table of developed nations is poor, and that weshould do better in trying to prevent it.¹ How to achieve thisgoal remains an unresolvedissue.

In the early 1990s the NHS introduced routine health checks for the over 75s and health promotion clinics for primary preventionin general practice. However, the evidence base for this approachwas disappointing. ² ³ More recently priority has been givento reducing risk in patients with established coronary heart disease:as the absolute risk for this group is greater, so is the potentialfor effective intervention. Much evidence exists that a varietyof behavioural changes and drug treatments can reduce morbidityand mortality for those with existing coronary heart disease.⁴Stopping smoking; eating a "Mediterranean diet"; participatingin exercise; and taking appropriate . . . [Full text of this article]

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