Patients with cardiac disease: Changes observed through last decade in out-patient clinics

AIM: To describe current profile of patients with cardio-vascular disease(CVD) and assessing changes through last decade.METHODS: Comparison of patients with established CVD from two similar cross-sectional registries performed in 1999(n = 6194) and 2009(n = 4639).The types of CVD were coronary heart disease(CHD),heart failure(HF) and atrial fibrillation(AF).Patients were collected from outpatient clinics.Investigators were 80% cardiologist and 20% primary care practitioners.Clinical antecedents,major diagnosis,blood test results and medical treatments were collected from all patients.RESULTS: An increase in all risk factors,except for smoking,was observed;a 54.4% relative increase in BP control was noted.CHD was the most prevalent CVD but HF and AF increased significantly,41.5% and 33.7%,respectively.A significant reduction in serum lipid levels was observed.The use of statins increased by 141.1% as did all cardiovascular treatments.Moreover,the use of angiotensin-renin system inhibitors in patients with HF,beta-blockers in CHD patients or oral anticoagulants in AF patients increased by 83.0%,80.3% and 156.0%,respectively(P < 0.01).CONCLUSION: The prevalence of all cardiovascular risk factors has increased in patients with CVD through last decade.HF and AF have experienced the largest increases.