Heart disease is the leading cause of death worldwide. Secondary prevention is focused on patients with known heart disease to prevent a second heart event. This includes prescribing medications like cholesterol lowering medication or life style advice such a quitting smoking or losing weight.
Trends in the prescription of preventative medications and life style changes in patients with known heart disease in Scotland is unclear. It also unknown whether there are differences between important patient groups (like sex or age). More insight on risk assessment and management of therapy in secondary prevention of heart disease in current practice is important to identify the gaps and where we can improve the adoption of prevention treatment to improve outcomes.
In this study we aim to conduct an evaluation on trends and inequalities in risk assessment, treatment and outcomes of patients with heart disease by sex, age, ethnicity, and deprivation status.
