The European Society of Cardiology EUROASPIRE project has collected, among other data, information on drug prescriptions for cardiovascular conditions in hospitals in a number of European countries. While not necessarily representative of national prescribing patterns these data do give some indication of the scale of drug use across Europe. The EUROASPIRE II survey showed that the use of drugs for secondary prevention in CHD patients varied considerably across survey populations, except in the case of anti-platelt drugs where over 80% of patients took this form of drug (mostly aspirin) in the countries studied. The use of beta blockers varied two-fold (from 44% in Hull and London, UK to 88% in Lille, France), as did the use of lipid-lowering drugs. The use of ACE inhibitors varied three-fold (from 19% in Malmo, Sweden to 69% in Ljubljana, Slovenia).

Recently data on the eight countries that have taken part in all three EUROASPIRE surveys to date have been released. Data from the most recent survey (2005/06) suggest that there is little variation in prescribing rates, particularly for anti-platelets and lipid-lowering drugs where all eight survey populations showed rates of at least 80%. There is some variation in the rate of prescribing beta blockers: 74% of patients in France compared to 96% of patients in Finland were prescribed these drugs.

Since 1995/96 the prescription of lipid-lowering drugs has massively increased in Europe. The prescription rate for these drugs has at least doubled in all eight EUROASPIRE populations for which data are available. In Italy, the rate has more than tripled, increasing from 25% in 1995/96 to 91% in 2005/06. There has also been a large increase in the prescription of ACE inhibitors, although in general the prescription rates for these drugs are lower than for lipid-lowering drugs.

This general increase in the use of drugs for secondary prevention noted by EUROASPIRE, has also been found in more representative studies carried out at a national level. For example, data from the Myocardial Infarction National Audit Project (MINAP) in the UK show a rapid increase in the use of beta blockers, lipid-lowering drugs (statins) and aspirin in people discharged from hospital following a heart attack, with prescription rates for these drugs now standing at 92%, 96% and 97% respectively in England, and 93%, 95% and 99% in Wales.