Coronary disease & ACSCohort study
Socioeconomic differences in patient pathways of secondary prevention after ischaemic heart disease: a nationwide cohort study
- Retrospective cohort study
- nationwide
- population-based
Authors' conclusion
Substantial socioeconomic differences persist in secondary prevention after IHD, reflecting inequalities in access to and engagement with care, despite a universal healthcare system.
Study context
- Population
- Individuals hospitalised with ischaemic heart disease, 2016–2022
- Participants
- 93,159 individuals
- Exposure
- Socioeconomic groups
- Outcome
- Comprehensive secondary prevention: all three components (CR, preventive medication, annual GP follow-up)
Main finding
As reported in the abstract
Receiving all three components
Relative risk (95% CI)
Short education
0.91(0.88–0.94)
Living alone
0.77(0.75–0.79)
Low income
0.70(0.67–0.73)
Unemployment
0.82(0.75–0.89)
- Achieved all three components (whole cohort)
- 25.9%
Observational data: associations, not effects.
Further findings
Cardiac rehabilitation (CR) initiation and adherence · within six months
- Initiated CR
- 41.2%
- Adhered, of those initiating
- 73.7%
- Socioeconomic differences most pronounced for CR uptake
Preventive medication and general practice (GP) follow-up
- Redeemed antiplatelet
- 86.1%
- Redeemed statin
- 77.0%
- Annual GP follow-up
- 56.0%
None of the recommended components
- Received none
- 7.6%
Original publication
Socioeconomic differences in patient pathways of secondary prevention after ischaemic heart disease: a nationwide cohort study. Eur J Prev Cardiol. Published 6 June 2026. doi:10.1093/eurjpc/zwag309
Summarised from the published abstract; every number is checked against it