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Coronary heart disease
- National service framework
- National Defibrillator Programme
- CHD choice
- Risk factors and initiatives to promote a healthier lifestyle
- Statins
- Reducing waiting times
- Continued investment in the infrastructure
- Thrombolysis and primary angioplasty
- Tackling inequalities
- Cardiac rehabilitation
- Coronary Heart Disease Care Group Workforce Team
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Statins
Under the CHD national service framework (NSF) and the new general medical services (GMS) contract, GPs and primary care teams should develop a register of CHD patients. Through this, they can review medication, offer advice on diet and lifestyle and maintain contact with patients at risk of suffering renewed heart problems.
Preventing CHD in high risk patients
Patients most at risk of suffering renewed heart problems should be prescribed statins. These are drugs that reduce the levels of cholesterol (also sometimes called lipids) in the blood.
High cholesterol levels are a major cause of coronary problems. Reducing cholesterol levels in a patient at high risk will play a big part in reducing their chance of having a heart attack or other coronary event, and it will also reduce the likelihood of them dying prematurely.
Each year, the UK spends £730 million on statins. Around 2.3 million people - over 3 percent of the population - are now receiving statins, and that number is still going up. Statins are thought to save many thousands of lives a year, as well as reducing the number and severity of heart attacks.
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