Know Your Risk Fox says the analysis was conducted in an effort to assess whether strengthened screening guidelines are leading to an earlier diagnosis of heart disease. More than half of patients with type 2 diabetes (55%), and slightly less than half of patients without diabetes (48%) reported having their disease diagnosed after they developed symptoms. "The fact that only a small number of people reported being diagnosed as a result of screening indicates that we are missing opportunities to prevent heart disease," epidemiologist and study co- Fox, PhD, tells. Heart patients diagnosed after the American Heart Association (AHA) and the American College of Cardiology (ACC) revised their screening guidelines were only slightly. The study was funded by drugmaker AstraZeneca, which makes the cholesterol-lowering drug Crestor.

The study included a nationally representative sample of patients with diabetes or other major risk factors for heart disease. Fox is president of Strategic Healthcare Solutions, a private health research group. A survey of almost 14,000 people with diabetes or other risk factors for heart disease suggests that doctors are routinely missing opportunities to identify heart problems early, researchers say.

Just one in five surveyed patients with heart disease said they were diagnosed as a result of routine screening.