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Problems With Measuring the Use of -Blockers in Ambulatory Settings for Secondary Prevention in Patients With Coronary Artery Disease

	Since this article does not have an abstract, we have provided the first 150 words of the full text and any section headings.

We read the article by Wang and Stafford¹ regarding the underuse of -blockers in patients with coronary artery disease for secondary prevention and would like to comment on the reasons why -blockers may have been underprescribed. Only 5.5% of the study patients had a history of myocardial infarction. The data for using -blockers as secondary prophylaxis for those without a history of myocardial infarction are not as strong as for those with a history of myocardial infarction as these authors themselves conclude: " -Blocker therapy should probably not be limited to those patients who are hospitalized for myocardial infarction."¹

Wang and Stafford seem to have relied on patients' recollections about which medications they were taking when they were seen during the study. It is possible that a patient may not have mentioned all the medications he or she was taking. Medications that patients failed to mention may have included -blockers . . . [Full Text of this Article]

Corresponding author: Ram Kakaiya, MD, University of Illinois College of Medicine Primary Care Clinic, 1511 Blackhawk Blvd, Rockton, IL 61072.