An annual, prospective, international study of outpatients with cardiovascular disease or risk factors: design and methods of the CardioMonitor registry.

Objective: To assess penetration and patterns of treatments in outpatients with cardiovascular disease (CVD) or risk factors.

Study: An international, observational survey of physicians treating outpatients with CVD or risk factors.

Design And Setting: A unique, diversified group of physicians caring for patients with CVD or risk factors is sampled annually in countries around the world. Participating physicians register up to 15 patients with CVD or risk factors, recording demographics, medical history, clinical data, diagnoses, and medications. The registry has run annually, with different cohorts of physicians and patients each year.

Results: Over 9 years, the CardioMonitor registry has included participation by 18,145 physicians, registering 264,570 patients from 16 countries. Of these, 100,495 (38%) patients had cardiac disease, 26,720 (10%) had cerebrovascular disease, and 21,231 (8%) had peripheral arterial disease (not exclusive diagnoses). The remainder, 139,234 (52.6%) patients did not have clinically significant vascular disease, but had risk factors, including hypertension, diabetes, or dyslipidemia.

Conclusion: This registry of outpatients with cardiovascular risk factors or disease with detailed medication use recorded offers new insights into trends in current practice of medicine for this large group of patients.