Screening coronary arteriography in the primary prevention of coronary artery disease.

Recent studies indicate an expansion of the population eligible for primary prevention of coronary artery disease with lipid-lowering therapy. This change has led to the unnecessary treatment of many individuals and an overall decreased effectiveness of medication with potentially significant side effects. If instead, the asymptomatic population is screened for the presence of early coronary artery disease (CAD), lipid lowering can be targeted to those who can truly benefit. The prevalence of asymptomatic CAD in men older than 50 years of age approaches 20% and arteriography is currently the best available test to identify these men. The approximate complication rate of arteriography in such a population (1 or 2 per 10,000) approaches that of other screening tests. Although insufficient data exists for formal cost analysis, approximations indicate significant savings for arteriographically targeted treatment of at-risk asymptomatic individuals. The authors show that coronary arteriography is a potentially safe and cost-effective method of screening an asymptomatic adult population for presence of early CAD, allowing for the targeting of lipid lowering to those who can benefit most from this therapy.