Prevention of coronary heart disease in clinical practice Summary of Recommendations of the Second joint Task Force of European and other Societies on Coronary Prevention

Abstract

This summary is taken from the Second Joint Task Force of European and other Societies Recommendations on Prevention of Coronary Heart Disease in Clinical Practice. The second Task Force was convened by the European Society of Cardiology (ESC), the European Atherosclerosis Society (EAS) and the European Society of Hypertension (ESH), the societies responsible for the original 1994 Task Force recommendations on coronary prevention (Chairman Professor K Pyörälä) and consisted of a writing group, other invited members and specialists, together with representatives of other European societies and organisations as listed in the appendix. The full Task Force first met in November 1997 to review the original recommendations and agree on the principles for revision. The Writing Group then prepared a new draft of the recommendations and the specialist contributions of Professor Daan Kromhout (diet), Professor Kristina Orth-Gomér (socioeconomic, psychosocial factors and behavioural change), Professor Francois Cambien (genetics) and Dr Carlos Brotons (opportunities and barriers for coronary prevention) are gratefully acknowledged. This was submitted to a second Task Force meeting in April 1998 for approval. After this meeting the Writing Group prepared the final version of the recommendations and this was approved by the full Task Force in June. The expert advice of Professor Philip Home and Professor George Alberti on diabetes mellitus is gratefully acknowledged. The document was then approved by the ESC, EAS and ESH. The Task Force recommendations have been published in the European Heart Journal, Atherosclerosis and the Journal of Hypertension (summary only).