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Systematic review: prognosis of angina in primary care

Melvyn Jones1, Greta Rait, Jane Falconer

  • 1Royal Free University College Medical School, Department of Primary Care and Population Sciences, London, UK. m.jones@pcps.ucl.ac.uk

Family Practice
|July 29, 2006
PubMed

Insights

Prognosis for angina in primary care is uncertain due to old, heterogeneous studies. New research is needed to understand contemporary outcomes and risk factors for angina patients managed in general practice.

Area of Science:

  • Cardiology
  • Primary Care Medicine
  • Epidemiology

Background:

  • Angina is a prevalent chronic condition managed primarily in UK primary care settings.
  • Existing mortality data for angina predominantly stem from population or hospital-based studies.
  • The prognosis of angina specifically within general practice settings is not well-established.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To systematically review and describe the prognosis of angina in patients identified and managed within primary care.
  • To synthesize available evidence on mortality and major adverse cardiovascular events for angina patients in general practice.

Main Methods:

  • A systematic review of cohort studies was conducted, focusing on patients with angina recruited in primary care settings.
  • Studies included required a minimum follow-up period of 12 months.
  • Data sources included multiple major biomedical databases, with independent review and data abstraction by two researchers.

Main Results:

  • Six cohort studies met the inclusion criteria.
  • Annual total mortality rates ranged from 2.8% to 6.6%.
  • Annual cardiovascular death rates were between 1.4% and 6.5%, and annual non-fatal myocardial infarction rates were 0.3% to 5.5%.
  • Quantitative synthesis was precluded by clinical heterogeneity across the included studies.

Conclusions:

  • The reviewed primary studies offer some insight into angina prognosis in general practice but are limited by age, small event numbers, and heterogeneity.
  • The contemporary prognosis of angina in primary care remains an open question.
  • Further research is essential to accurately estimate current prognosis and identify determinants for angina in primary care.
Abstract

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