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Heart Disease In The News UCLA heart care program saves lives In the April American Journal of Cardiology, investigators from UCLA report on a formal risk-reduction program they have instituted for patients admitted to with coronary artery disease. In this program, both patients and doctors are informed of the proven risk-reduction steps that should be taken in patients with coronary artery disease - smoking cessation, weight reduction, exercise, and aggressive lipid lowering, as well as treatment with beta blockers, ACE inhibitors, and aspirin. All these steps have been shown to improve the outlook for these patients. The investigators report that, with the institution of their special "reminder" program, the percentage of patients receiving the recommended therapies increased significantly. The mortality of patients treated under the special program was half that of patients treated before the program was instituted. Perhaps the most surprising aspect of the study was the extraordinarily low percentage of patients that had been treated according to the recommended guidelines - even at a top-notch institution - prior to the special reminder program. For some of the recommended therapies, as few as 6% of patients were treated according to guidelines. Patients with coronary artery disease had better make sure their doctors are following proven guidelines for reducing mortality. A checklist of recommended therapies can be found here. |
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