Euroaspire III - Title: Euroaspire III survey

Expert Committee

Protocol Summary

This third European survey will identify risk factors in coronary patients, their blood relatives and high risk individuals, describe their management through lifestyle and use of drug therapies and provide an objective assessment of clinical implementation of current scientific knowledge.

Objectives of the survey:

• This project is based on hospital patients with coronary heart disease, their blood relatives (if there is premature CHD) and for the first time apparently healthy individuals in primary care at high risk of developing cardiovascular disease.
• To determine in hospitalised coronary patients (acute myocardial infarction and ischaemia and following revascularisation by angioplasty or coronary artery surgery) and in high risk individuals being treated in primary care whether the Joint European Guidelines on cardiovascular disease prevention are being followed.
• To determine whether the practice of preventive cardiology in patients with established coronary disease in EUROASPIRE III has improved by comparison with those centres which took part in EUROASPIRE I and II.
• To determine in the families (first degree blood relatives) of patients with premature CHD (men under 55 years and women under 65 years) whether screening for risk factors has occurred and, if so, to describe their management by lifestyle and drug therapies.
• To determine whether the practice of preventive cardiology in first degree blood relatives of patients with premature CHD in EUROASPIRE III has improved by comparison with the results from EUROASPIRE II.
• To follow up patients from EUROASPIRE I and II for total and cause-specific mortality to determine the relationships between risk factors measured at interview and event-free survival.