Guidelines--a missed opportunity.

Abstract

Progress is slow in the integration of coronary heart disease prevention into daily clinical practice by cardiologists and other physicians working in cardiology, internal medicine and primary healthcare. This is not due to a lack of professional recommendations on coronary prevention. As new knowledge has become available, new generations of recommendations have been published. In surveys of secondary prevention practice, risk factor recording and management falls short of these recommendations and there is considerable potential to further reduce the risk of another major ischemic event in patients with established coronary disease. The most recent recommendations from the Joint Task Force of the European Society of Cardiology, European Atherosclerosis Society and European Society of Hypertension reinforce the importance of secondary prevention and how they can be extended to primary prevention by targeting high-risk individuals in the general population. It is hoped that development of guidelines at a national level will ensure a common approach to coronary heart disease prevention throughout Europe.