An improving prognosis over time in medically treated patients with coronary artery disease

Area of Science:

• Cardiology
• Public Health

Background:

• The national mortality rate from coronary heart disease (CHD) has decreased over the past decade.
• The reasons for this decline remain unclear.
• Cardiovascular event rates have also seen a reduction.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate the trends in mortality and cardiovascular events among patients with established coronary artery disease.
• To determine if the observed national decrease in CHD mortality is reflected in patients with pre-existing conditions.

Main Methods:

• Analysis of data from 1,911 medically treated patients with significant coronary artery disease.
• Evaluation of mortality rates and total cardiovascular events over a 10-year period.
• Assessment of patient referral patterns to rule out selection bias.

Main Results:

• Both the mortality rate and the total number of cardiovascular events decreased significantly in the studied patient cohort over the last 10 years.
• The decrease in events was not attributable to a cohort of less severely ill patients being referred for evaluation.
• Findings indicate that patients with established coronary artery disease experienced a reduction in mortality.

Conclusions:

• At least a portion of the national decrease in coronary heart disease mortality is occurring within the population of patients who have established coronary disease.
• This suggests that improved medical management and treatment strategies for existing coronary artery disease may be contributing factors to the overall decline in CHD mortality.