Lipid-lowering drugs in ischaemic heart disease: a quasi-experimental uncontrolled before-and-after study of the effectiveness of clinical practice guidelines.

Background: Cardiovascular diseases(CVD), specifically ischaemic heart disease(IHD), are the main causes of death in industrialized countries. Statins are not usually prescribed in the most appropriate way. To ensure the correct prescription of these drugs, it is necessary to develop, disseminate and implement clinical practice guidelines(CPGs), and subsequently evaluate them.