Epidemiología de la angina estable y comorbilidad

Chronic stable angina is a common presentation of coronary artery disease. However, less is known about angina than acute coronary syndrome because, historically, it has been considered a second-order entity. Despite the availability of questionnaires that claim to provide objective data for making a clinical diagnosis (but which are in fact subjective), the prevalence of angina varies according to where it is diagnosed (e.g. in primary care, cardiology outpatient departments or cardiology wards) and according to the follow-up investigations carried out. Recent studies confirm that an increasing number of patients are being prescribed optimum therapy (i.e. antiplatelet agents, statins, angiotensin-converting enzyme inhibitors and beta-blockers). Comorbidities can have a substantial effect on morbidity and mortality in patients with stable angina. Since the prevalence of comorbid conditions has been observed to increase in recent years, appropriate management of these conditions is now essential for improving the prognosis of these patients.