Secondary prevention for patients following a myocardial infarction: summary of NICE guidance.

Mortality from coronary heart disease has been falling in the UK since the 1970s, but remains higher than in most other Western countries. Most patients receive some treatment for secondary prevention after myocardial infarction, but not all patients are offered the most effective secondary prevention package. The recently published NICE guideline for secondary prevention in patients after myocardial infarction, summarised in this article, makes clear recommendations for management of patients after myocardial infarction, based on best available evidence. The guidelines update the 2001 NICE guideline, and have expanded and emphasised the recommendations for physical activity, dietary and other lifestyle changes, and cardiac rehabilitation, and updated the recommendations for drug therapy.