ABSTRACT
Cardiovascular disease persists in being the leading cause of premature morbidity and mortality within the United Kingdom, with Northern Ireland holding the unenviable position of first in the league table of related deaths throughout the world (Vemura and Pisa, 1988). Screening has emerged as the ultimate tool in primary prevention strategies against coronary heart disease (CHD) and hence screening programmes in many formats have developed. While there is no universally accepted definition of screening, it has nonetheless been defined as “the systematic application of a test or enquiry, to identify subjects at sufficient risk of a specific disorder to benefit from further investigation or direct preventive action, among persons who have not sought medical attention on account of symptoms of that disorder” (Wald, 1994).
