This study was conducted to determine the proportion of the decline in coronary heart disease (CHD) mortality observed since 1994 in Canada that was associated with prevention and medical treatments. For that purpose, a prospective analytic study of the Ontario (Canada) population aged 25 to 84 years between 1994 and 2005 was performed. The authors observed a 35% decrease in CHD mortality during that time in Canada. The greater part (48%) of this reduction was associated with improvements in major risk factors, specifically, reduction in total cholesterol (23%) and systolic blood pressure (20%), whereas new medical and surgical treatments were associated with 43% of the decrease. However, the increasing prevalence of obesity and diabetes was associated with higher CHD mortality of 6% and 2%, respectively. Thus, these findings provide information concerning the underlying factors associated with this CHD mortality decline in order to plan future health policies and to elaborate strategies for primary and secondary prevention.
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