
A study of 25,250 patients in Germany found that only about half were assigned the correct targets for lowering cholesterol. Doctors believe the findings, published in the European Heart Journal, may apply in the rest of Europe. Women are most at risk of being given insufficient treatment, they say. The study found that about 50 to 80 fewer heart attacks, strokes and heart disease-related deaths per 1,000 patients could be avoided over a 10-year period if all doctors adhered to the guidelines on cholesterol-lowering targets. Patients were more likely to be given correct targets if they had a history of heart attacks, coronary heart disease and diabetes, the researchers found. Patient riskProfessor Heribert Schunkert, a clinical cardiologist who led the research in Lubeck, Germany, said the core
[Linkleri görebilmek için lütfen üye olunuz. ÜYE OL / Register...] question involved the perception of patient risk."Women are often perceived as having a lower cardiovascular risk compared to their real risk, and this may lead to insufficient treatment," he said. "This aspect has also been reported in other regions in the world." Professor Ian Graham, head of cardiovascular medicine at Trinity College Dublin. and a spokesman for the
[Linkleri görebilmek için lütfen üye olunuz. ÜYE OL / Register...]European Society of Cardiology said the UK did better when it came to giving out correct cholesterol targets. But he cautioned: "There is a general principle of guideline fatigue. GPs are bombarded by targets.