People at risk of coronary heart disease should not be denied treatment with effective drugs for purely financial reasons
BMJ 1998; 317 doi: https://doi.org/10.1136/bmj.317.7150.80 (Published 04 July 1998) Cite this as: BMJ 1998;317:80
- T M Reynolds, Consultant chemical pathologist.,
- A S Wierzbicki, Senior lecturer in chemical pathology.,
- M A Crook, Consultant chemical pathologist.,
- N E Capps, Consultant chemical pathologist.
- Clinical Chemistry Department, Burton Hospital, Burton upon Trent DE13 0RB
- St Thomas's Hospital, London SE1 7EH
- Lipid Clinic, Princess Royal Hospital, Telford TF6 6TF
EDITOR—As soon as effective treatments for coronary heart disease—which causes 30% of deaths in the United Kingdom—became available, evidence based medicine and finance clashed. The Standing Medical Advisory Committee attempted to impose the Sheffield risk tables1 and was condemned for its simplistic guidelines and high threshold for treatment.2 A report on cholesterol and heart disease by the NHS Centre for Reviews and Dissemination now seeks to reduce expenditure on statins by focusing clinical effort on modification of lifestyle and treatment for mild hypertension. …
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