The benefits of reducing cholesterol levels - the need to distinguish primary from secondary prevention: 2. Implications for heart disease prevention in Australia

Abstract

Objective: To estimate the number of coronary heart disease (CHD) events arising from the primary and secondary prevention populations of middle-aged Australian men and the potential impact in each setting of lipid-lowering therapy on death from CHD. Design: Analysis based on results of a meta-analysis of drug trials to lower cholesterol levels and data from the Hunter Region Heart Disease Prevention Programme. Main outcome measure: Death from CHD. Results: Over a five year period, 1520 fatal CHD events would be expected in a population of 100 000 men aged 35 to 69 years. Approximately 52% would arise from subjects already known to suffer from CHD. We predict that treating everyone in the se..