Atherosclerosis

Atherosclerosis presents many opportunities for the primary care provider (PCP) to positively affect the patient's outcome. The preventable nature of the disease should be a major focus of the PCP's relationship with the patient. Aggressive risk factor reduction clearly is beneficial in CAD and should be addressed at each visit with at-risk patients. Once the disease is established, the PCP's goal is prevention of complications by educating the patient about the disease and by appropriate diagnostic testing and referral when indicated.