1 Shepherd Coronary artery disease, the most important cause of death in the United Kingdom, kills about 200 000 Britons each year. Many victims are struck down out of the blue and in the prime of an active working life. Others survive the fIrst attack but are so debilitated by it that they are compelled to fall back on the efforts of their family and the Social and Health Services for their future survival. The epidemic proportions of the problem and the burden which it places on the community at large has led many health care professionals to reassess their attitudes to heart disease...

1 Shepherd Coronary artery disease, the most important cause of death in the United Kingdom, kills about 200 000 Britons each year. Many victims are struck down out of the blue and in the prime of an active working life. Others survive the fIrst attack but are so debilitated by it that they are compelled to fall back on the efforts of their family and the Social and Health Services for their future survival. The epidemic proportions of the problem and the burden which it places on the community at large has led many health care professionals to reassess their attitudes to heart disease...

We share with our colleagues the difficulties presented by the increasing volume of drugs available for our use in the care of patients. The introduction of new and effective preparations has added to our problems both in keeping up to date and, paradoxically, in their proper selection and use. There are yet further difficulties in general practice because of the nature of the diseases and situations encountered; uncer- tainties in the preciseness of di-a.gnosis, in the likely course and outcome of diseases and in the particular characteristics of the individual patient. We have attempted to...