Danish trends in pharmacotherapy, comorbidities, and demographics in patients referred for coronary angiography: what changed during a decade?

AIMS Coronary angiography holds a central role in the diagnosis of coronary heart disease. We studied temporal trends in referral patterns 2000-09. METHODS AND RESULTS We identified 156 496 first-time coronary angiographies in 2000-09 in nationwide registries. Trends were analyzed in 2-year intervals. Numbers of acute (5943-10 707) and elective (17 294-25 550) procedures increased between 2000-01 and 2008-09. Mean age increased from 61.8 to 63.9 years (P < 0.001) and the proportion of females increased from 33 to 37% (P < 0.001). An increase in the number of patients with prior chronic heart failure (2866 vs. 3197), cerebrovascular disease (1790 vs. 2906), diabetes (2527 vs. 4593), and arrhythmias (2985 vs. 4733) was observed. The proportion of acute patients examined the same day as hospitalized increased from 56.6 to 83.1%. Odds ratios (95% confidence interval) for treatment with statins [3.42(3.27;3.57)], RAS-inhibitors [1.85(1.77;1.93)], and acetylsalicylic acid [1.43(1.37;1.49)] at the time of coronary angiography increased towards 2008-09. Elective patients received medical treatment more often than acute patients (P < 0.001). CONCLUSION During a 10-year period, there was an increase in the mean age of patients and the proportion of female patients, and a 56% increase in number of coronary angiographies performed. The use of prophylactic cardiovascular drugs among these high-risk patients increased during our study period.