Study: Heart Attacks Down, Angina Up

A study finds that a steady, 30-year decline in heart attacks among British men has been counterbalanced by a steady rise in angina cases.

The authors of the report in this week’s British Medical Journal say that the apparent increase in angina may result simply from changes in diagnostic practice. But they conclude that health services must be concerned about resources to diagnose and treat angina and for the overall prevention of heart disease.

Researchers from the Royal Free and University College Medical School tracked more than 7,000 men for 20 years to find trends in heart disease. The men were aged 40 to 59 when they were selected at random between 1978 and 1980.

The study found that the rate of major coronary events dropped by an average of 3.6 percent a year, while diagnoses of angina rose by 2.6 percent annually. As a result, the rate of heart disease remained the same.