Introduction: Lithuania has one of the highest mortality rates from coronary heart disease (CHD) among European countries. Most CHD are preventable, but when they occur, the management of these patients is important in secondary prevention. The purpose of the present analysis was to describe the demographics, clinical profile, and contemporary management of patients with stable CHD in the Lithuanian population and to compare data with other Central Eastern European countries.
Methods: CLARIFY (prospective observational longitudinal registry of patients with stable CHD) is an international cohort study in outpatients with stable CHD. Treated outpatients with established CHD from the CLARIFY registry in Lithuania (214 patients) were compared with those from the rest of Central Eastern Europe (2794 patients).
Results: Lithuanian patients were younger (p = 0.0275), had a higher body mass index (p = 0.0003), and more frequently received treatment for hypertension (p < 0.0001). Prevalence of dyslipidemia (p < 0.0001) was higher in Lithuanian patients but a smaller group of people had diabetes (p < 0.0001). The total cholesterol (p < 0.0001), low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (p < 0.0001), and blood pressure (p < 0.0001) were higher in the Lithuanian population. A smaller proportion of Lithuanian patients were physically inactive, and the majority of patients in Lithuania were engaged in light physical activity compared with Central Eastern European patients (p = 0.0018).
Conclusion: The data analysis shows that management of hypertension, dyslipidemia, smoking, and obesity in patients with CHD in Lithuania is insufficient and needs further improvement.
Keywords: CLARIFY registry; Coronary heart disease; Lithuania; Risk factors.
Type 2 diabetes mellitus [Lithuania has one of the highest mortality rates from cardiovascular disease (CVD) among European countries. The purpose of the present analysis was to describe the demographics, clinical profile, and contemporary management of patients with stable CVD in the Lithuanian population and to compare data with other Central Eastern European countries. Our data shows that management of elevated blood pressure, abnormal amounts of lipids, smoking, and excessive weight in Lithuanian patients with CVD is insufficient compared with the rest of Central Eastern Europe and needs further improvement].