KAREN ROBINSON believes that emergency departments have a responsibility to provide information and advice in the prevention of coronary heart disease

Coronary heart disease (CHD) is the most common cause of death in the UK accounting for over 135,000 deaths per year, resulting in the UK having one of the highest death rates in the world. The cost of CHD to the UK economy is more than double that of other diseases, such as arthritis, stroke and epilepsy, with a total of £10,000 million a year being spent on its management (Petersen and Rayner 2000). Death rates have been falling by about 4 percent since the late 1970s, however in international terms, rates have fallen less in the UK than in other comparable countries, such as, the United States and Australia (Department of Health 2000).