The current status of primary prevention in coronary heart disease.

During the second part of the twentieth century, research advances caused a substantial decline in the rate of coronary heart disease. The decline lasted from the mid-1960s until the early 1990s and occurred primarily in Western countries. However, an unfavourable trend in coronary heart disease related mortality has gradually developed during the 1990s, with cardiovascular diseases anticipated to remain the main cause of overall mortality for the foreseeable future. The present paper aims at analyzing the current status of the main determinants of population-wide coronary heart disease prevention.