Screening for coronary heart disease

Abstract

Malta and the United Kingdom share the dubious distinction of being among the three countries with the highest mortality rate from Cardiovascular disease in Europe; other countries in the Mediterranean basin have much lower rates. This presentation deals with a screening clinic for men carried out in the English West Country market town of Cirencester (population 16,000). The aim is a mass assault on risk factors for coronary heart disease, and results at the end of the first year suggest that, given sufficient opportunity and information, people are willing to be screened and to alter their lifestyle to reduce their level of risk of developing coronary disease.