title: Short-term outcome and attainment of secondary prevention goals in patients with acute coronary syndrome--results from the countrywide TARGET study.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  Acute coronary syndromes (ACS) continue to pose a significant medical and socioeconomic burden worldwide. Optimal management strategy aims to improve short and long-term outcome. The present study aims to assess short-term outcome of real-world ACS patients and evaluate the achievement rate of secondary prevention goals.
  
  
  METHODS
  The TARGET study is an observational study enrolling 418 consecutive ACS patients from 17 centers countrywide (78.0% males, 63.9 ± 12.9 years). After the in-hospital phase, patients were followed for 6 months. In total, 366 patients were included in the prospective phase of the study. At the end of the follow-up, mortality, major adverse cardiovascular events (MACE), prescription pattern of cardiovascular medications, lipid levels, adherence rate to treatment and behavioral recommendations were measured.
  
  
  RESULTS
  The overall mortality was 4.8% and the rate of MACE was 17.5%. At 6 months, a significantly lower proportion of patients received antiplatelet agents and statins as compared to hospital discharge. At the end of the follow-up, 87.7% of patients remained on statin treatment, yet only 18.2% of patients had LDL cholesterol levels less than 70 mg/dL. The adherence pattern to lifestyle and dietary recommendations remained low (66.2% quit smoking, 55.8% and 81.3% followed physical activity and dietary recommendations respectively).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Despite the low rate of mortality and MACE occurrence rate in this countrywide observational study, the attainment rate of secondary prevention goals is relatively poor. Improvement interventions focusing in these gaps of optimal care provision are expected to have a favorable impact on the prognosis of real world ACS patients.
authors.affiliation: Henry Dunant Hospital Athens, Greece.
authors.forename: G
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Andrikopoulos
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Tzeis
authors.forename: N
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Nikas
authors.forename: D
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Richter
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Pipilis
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Gotsis
authors.forename: T
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Tsaknakis
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Kartalis
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Kitsiou
authors.forename: K
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Toli
authors.forename: I
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Mantas
authors.forename: C
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Olympios
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Pras
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Lampropoulos
authors.forename: K
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Oikonomou
authors.forename: C
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Pappas
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Kranidis
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Anastasiou-Nana
authors.forename: F
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Triposkiadis
authors.forename: I
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Goudevenos
authors.forename: G
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Theodorakis
authors.forename: P
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Vardas
mesh_terms: D054058:Acute Coronary Syndrome / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000517:prevention & control*; D000368:Aged; D015331:Cohort Studies; D005260:Female; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D006040:Goals; D006115:Greece / Q000453:epidemiology; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D011446:Prospective Studies; D055502:Secondary Prevention / Q000379:methods*; D013997:Time Factors; D016896:Treatment Outcome