The objective of the OFRECE study was to estimate the prevalence of stable angina in Spain. This prevalence is currently unknown, due to a lack of recent studies and to changes in the epidemiology and treatment of ischemic heart disease.

This cross-sectional study involved a representative sample of the Spanish population aged 40 years or older, obtained via 2-stage random sampling: in the first stage, primary care physicians were randomly selected from each Spanish province, whereas in the second stage 20 people were selected from the population assigned to each physician. The prevalence was weighted by age, sex, and geographical area. Participants were classified as having angina if they met the “definite angina” criteria of the Rose questionnaire and as having confirmed angina if the angina was confirmed by a cardiologist or if they had a history of acute ischemic heart disease or revascularization.

Of the 11 831 people invited to participate, 8378 (71%) were analyzed (mean age, 59.2 years). The weighted prevalence of definite angina (Rose) was 2.6% (95% confidence interval, 2.1%-3.1%) and was higher in women (2.9%) than in men (2.2%), whereas that of confirmed angina was 1.4% (95% confidence interval, 1.0%-1.8%), without differences between men (1.5%) and women (1.3%). The prevalence of definite angina (Rose) increased with age (0.7% in patients aged 40 to 49 years and 7.1% in those aged 70 years or older), history of cardiovascular disease, and cardiovascular risk factors, except smoking.

The prevalence of definite angina (Rose) in the Spanish population aged 40 years or older was 2.6%, whereas that of confirmed angina was 1.4%. Both prevalences increased with age, cardiovascular risk factors, and cardiovascular history.