MEASUREMENT AND MANAGEMENT OF CARDIOVASCULAR RISK-FACTORS - IS SCREENING WORTHWHILE

Coronary heart disease has been described as Scotland's national disea se and ways of reducing its incidence are therefore of paramount impor tance especially in younger males. A recent British Medical Journal pa per(1) has indicated that general practitioners can make little impact on patients' lifestyles. This paper shows that a cohort of Scottish m en (Social Class III-V) responded well (80%) to offers of screening fo r risk factors of CHD, continued to attend for review and showed highl y significant changes in their risk factor profiles. A committed enthu siastic primary care team have shown the potential for reducing corona ry risk factors in so-called healthy men.