Despite declining death rates in recent decades, coronary heart disease remains one of the leading causes of death in England.^w1 Statins have been shown to reduce the risk of death and acute myocardial infarction in people who have coronary heart disease or are at high risk of developing it.^w2-w4 A key objective of the national service framework for coronary heart disease is to increase the uptake of statins in these two groups. We conducted an analysis of primary care prescribing of lipid regulating drugs and admission rates for acute myocardial infarction in the NHS for 1996-2002.