Atherothrombosis is a leading cause of death worldwide. The REduction of Atherothrombosis for Continued Health (REACH) Registry aims to evaluate the long-term risk of atherothrombotic events in a global at-risk population, to assess the importance of cross-risk and to define predictors of atherothrombotic events. Over 69,000 people in 44 countries were recruited, of which 618 were in the UK.
The majority (91%) of patients recruited in the UK had symptomatic disease (coronary artery disease, cerebrovascular disease or peripheral arterial disease) of which 14% had disease in more than one vascular bed. Classic cardiovascular risk factors were seen to be active and their management was found to be inadequate, albeit better in those with symptomatic disease than in those with risk factors only. UK data were in general typical of those found in the whole of the Western European sample.
