Cholesterol management in patients with IHD: an audit-based appraisal of progress towards clinical targets in primary care

Anonymised data collected from 24 participating localities in England have been aggregated for this report. The data are taken from general practice computer records using a validated extraction tool Morbidity Information Query and Export SynTax (MIQUEST). The number of patients with heart disease, a cholesterol measure, whether they had been prescribed a statin, their quality of control, and its implications are reported.
In the population studied of 2.4 million, 89,422 patients had a diagnosis of ischaemic heart disease; a prevalence rate of 3.7%. Cholesterol measurement was available for half (48.3%) of these patients, of whom half (55.2%) were taking a statin. As a result of this treatment gap, 118 excess myocardial infarctions annually are predicted, equivalent to around 7,150 events nationally.
Compared to previous audits carried out in UK general practice, considerable progress has been made towards the achievement of treatment goals. The treatment gap is represented by a combination of lack of measurement and recording of data as well as poor quality of control.