BMJ 2000;321:1299-1300 ( 25 November )

Editorials

Treating dyslipidaemia in primary care

The gap between policy and reality is large in the UK

Papers p 1322

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

Standards three and four of the NHS's National Service Framework for Coronary Heart Disease require primary care teams to identify and modify risk factors in patients who have a greater than 30% risk of developing heart disease over 10 years; they must also offer advice and treatment to all patients with established coronary artery disease to help them reduce their risks.1 Yet the study published by Primatesta and Poulter this week (p 1322) found that less than one third of patients in England who have a history of coronary heart disease or stroke receive lipid lowering treatment, and that recently recommended targets for cholesterol concentrations were reached by only about 1 in 10 of those who were eligible for treatment.2 Primatesta and Poulter's findings are in accordance with those of other studies.3-5

Why are so few patients receiving lipid lowering treatment? The consensus that cholesterol is an important reversible risk factor for . . . [Full text of this article]
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Relevant Article

Lipid concentrations and the use of lipid lowering drugs: evidence from a national cross sectional survey
Paola Primatesta and Neil R Poulter
BMJ 2000 321: 1322-1325. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

This article has been cited by other articles:

  • Ferrer-Garcia, J. C., Sanchez-Ballester, E., Albalat-Galera, R., Berzosa-Sanchez, M., Herrera-Ballester, A. (2008). Efficacy of Atorvastatin for Achieving Cholesterol Targets After LDL-Cholesterol Based Dose Selection in Patients With Type 2 Diabetes. J CARDIOVASC PHARMACOL THER 13: 183-188 [Abstract]  
  • Wyatt, J C, Liu, J L Y (2002). Basic concepts in medical informatics. J. Epidemiol. Community Health 56: 808-812 [Abstract] [Full text]  
  • Whincup, P H, Emberson, J R, Lennon, L, Walker, M, Papacosta, O, Thomson, A (2002). Low prevalence of lipid lowering drug use in older men with established coronary heart disease. Heart 88: 25-29 [Abstract] [Full text]  
  • Smellie, W S. A, Lowrie, R., Wilkinson, E. (2001). Quality improvement report: A laboratory based intervention to improve appropriateness of lipid tests and audit cholesterol lowering in primary care. BMJ 323: 1224-1227 [Abstract] [Full text]  
  • Di Napoli, M., Papa, F. (2001). Inflammation, Statins, and Outcome After Ischemic Stroke. Stroke 32 : 2446-2447 [Full text]  
  • Calfee, J. E. (2001). Pharmaceutical Price Controls and Patient Welfare. ANN INTERN MED 134: 1060-1064 [Abstract] [Full text]  

Rapid Responses:

Read all Rapid Responses

Proper lipid management involves significant additional laboratory costs
Eric S Kilpatrick
bmj.com, 30 Nov 2000 [Full text]
Proper lipid management involves significant additional laboratory costs
Eric S Kilpatrick
bmj.com, 1 Dec 2000 [Full text]
HDL and NSF
Robert Lord
bmj.com, 12 Dec 2000 [Full text]
Dietary change in the whole population is the main answer to dyslipidaemia in the UK
Erkki Vartiainen
bmj.com, 9 Jan 2001 [Full text]
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