OBJECTIVE: To determine the extent to which Dutch patients with a history of cardiovascular disease and high cholesterol levels, treated in specialised care, are achieving low-cholesterol targets as defined by national guidelines. DESIGN: Hospital-based cohort study. SETTING: Practices of 41 hospital-based cardiologists and internists in the Netherlands. SUBJECTS: 7377 patients. RESULTS: Forty-one percent of the patients with an indication for secondary cardiovascular prevention by lipid-lowering drug treatment were receiving medication and were achieving cholesterol targets, 42% were receiving lipid-lowering medication but had cholesterol levels above target, 11% were not receiving treatment, and 5% had no recent lipid measurements. CONCLUSION: Compared with previous studies, the SOLID study shows that a relatively large percentage of the Dutch patients under specialised care with a history of cardiovascular disease and an indication for cholesterol-reducing therapy are currently being treated. A considerable proportion of the patients, however, are still not receiving optimal treatment and more than 10% are not being treated at all.
OBJECTIVE: To determine the extent to which Dutch patients with a history of cardiovascular disease and high cholesterol levels, treated in specialised care, are achieving low-cholesterol targets as defined by national guidelines. DESIGN: Hospital-based cohort study. SETTING: Practices of 41 hospital-based cardiologists and internists in the Netherlands. SUBJECTS: 7377 patients. RESULTS: Forty-one percent of the patients with an indication for secondary cardiovascular prevention by lipid-lowering drug treatment were receiving medication and were achieving cholesterol targets, 42% were receiving lipid-lowering medication but had cholesterol levels above target, 11% were not receiving treatment, and 5% had no recent lipid measurements. CONCLUSION: Compared with previous studies, the SOLID study shows that a relatively large percentage of the Dutch patients under specialised care with a history of cardiovascular disease and an indication for cholesterol-reducing therapy are currently being treated. A considerable proportion of the patients, however, are still not receiving optimal treatment and more than 10% are not being treated at all.
Entities:
Keywords:
Dutch guidelines; cardiovascular disease; high cholesterol levels
Authors: J Shepherd; S M Cobbe; I Ford; C G Isles; A R Lorimer; P W MacFarlane; J H McKillop; C J Packard Journal: N Engl J Med Date: 1995-11-16 Impact factor: 91.245