Secondary prevention programmes for coronary heart disease: a meta-regression showing the merits of shorter, generalist, primary care-based interventions

World Heart Federation Roadmap for Secondary Prevention of Cardiovascular Disease: 2023 Update

Background

Secondary prevention lifestyle and pharmacological treatment of atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease (ASCVD) reduce a high proportion of recurrent events and mortality. However, significant gaps exist between guideline recommendations and usual clinical practice.

Objectives

Describe the state of the art, the roadblocks, and successful strategies to overcome them in ASCVD secondary prevention management.

Methods

A writing group reviewed guidelines and research papers and received inputs from an international committee composed of cardiovascular prevention and health systems experts about the article's structure, content, and draft. Finally, an external expert group reviewed the paper.

Results

Smoking cessation, physical activity, diet and weight management, antiplatelets, statins, beta-blockers, renin-angiotensin-aldosterone system inhibitors, and cardiac rehabilitation reduce events and mortality. Potential roadblocks may occur at the individual, healthcare provider, and health system levels and include lack of access to healthcare and medicines, clinical inertia, lack of primary care infrastructure or built environments that support preventive cardiovascular health behaviours. Possible solutions include improving health literacy, self-management strategies, national policies to improve lifestyle and access to secondary prevention medication (including fix-dose combination therapy), implementing rehabilitation programs, and incorporating digital health interventions. Digital tools are being examined in a range of settings from enhancing self-management, risk factor control, and cardiac rehab.

Conclusions

Effective strategies for secondary prevention management exist, but there are barriers to their implementation. WHF roadmaps can facilitate the development of a strategic plan to identify and implement local and national level approaches for improving secondary prevention.

Better adherence with out-of-hospital healthcare improved long-term prognosis of acute coronary syndromes: Evidence from an Italian real-world investigation

BACKGROUND

Patients who experience a hospital admission for acute coronary syndromes (ACS) exhibit poor prognosis over the years. The purposes of this study were to evaluate the real-world patterns of out-of-hospital practice in the management of ACS patients and to assess their impact on the risk of selected outcomes.

METHODS

The cohort of 87,530 residents in the Lombardy Region (Italy) who were newly hospitalised for ACS during 2011-2015 was followed until 2018. Exposure to medical treatment including use of selected drugs, diagnostic procedures and laboratory tests was recorded. The main outcome of interest was re-hospitalisation for cardiovascular (CV) outcomes. Proportional hazards models were fitted to estimate hazard ratio, and 95% confidence intervals (CI), for the exposure-outcome association. Analyses were stratified according to the ACS type.

RESULTS

The cumulative incidence of re-hospitalisation for CV disease was 33%, 42% and 38% at 5 years after index discharge among STEMI, NSTEMI and unstable angina patients. Within one year from index discharge, between 70% and 80% of patients had at least a prescription of statins, beta-blockers and renin-angiotensin-system blocking agents, underwent ECG and lipid profile examination, and had a cardiologic examination. One patient in five underwent cardiac rehabilitation. Compared with patients who did not adhere to healthcare recommendations, the risk of CV hospital readmission was reduced from 10% (95% CI: 4%-10%) to 23% (12%-32%) among patients who underwent lipid profile examinations and who experienced cardiac rehabilitation.

CONCLUSION

Close out-of-hospital healthcare must be considered the cornerstone for improving the long-term prognosis of ACS patients.

Use of a Machine Learning Program to Correctly Triage Incoming Text Messaging Replies From a Cardiovascular Text-Based Secondary Prevention Program: Feasibility Study

BACKGROUND

SMS text messaging programs are increasingly being used for secondary prevention, and have been shown to be effective in a number of health conditions including cardiovascular disease. SMS text messaging programs have the potential to increase the reach of an intervention, at a reduced cost, to larger numbers of people who may not access traditional programs. However, patients regularly reply to the SMS text messages, leading to additional staffing requirements to monitor and moderate the patients' SMS text messaging replies. This additional staff requirement directly impacts the cost-effectiveness and scalability of SMS text messaging interventions.

OBJECTIVE

This study aimed to test the feasibility and accuracy of developing a machine learning (ML) program to triage SMS text messaging replies (ie, identify which SMS text messaging replies require a health professional review).

METHODS

SMS text messaging replies received from 2 clinical trials were manually coded (1) into "Is staff review required?" (binary response of yes/no); and then (2) into 12 general categories. Five ML models (Naïve Bayes, OneVsRest, Random Forest Decision Trees, Gradient Boosted Trees, and Multilayer Perceptron) and an ensemble model were tested. For each model run, data were randomly allocated into training set (2183/3118, 70.01%) and test set (935/3118, 29.98%). Accuracy for the yes/no classification was calculated using area under the receiver operating characteristics curve (AUC), false positives, and false negatives. Accuracy for classification into 12 categories was compared using multiclass classification evaluators.

RESULTS

A manual review of 3118 SMS text messaging replies showed that 22.00% (686/3118) required staff review. For determining need for staff review, the Multilayer Perceptron model had highest accuracy (AUC 0.86; 4.85% false negatives; and 4.63% false positives); with addition of heuristics (specified keywords) fewer false negatives were identified (3.19%), with small increase in false positives (7.66%) and AUC 0.79. Application of this model would result in 26.7% of SMS text messaging replies requiring review (true + false positives). The ensemble model produced the lowest false negatives (1.43%) at the expense of higher false positives (16.19%). OneVsRest was the most accurate (72.3%) for the 12-category classification.

CONCLUSIONS

The ML program has high sensitivity for identifying the SMS text messaging replies requiring staff input; however, future research is required to validate the models against larger data sets. Incorporation of an ML program to review SMS text messaging replies could significantly reduce staff workload, as staff would not have to review all incoming SMS text messages. This could lead to substantial improvements in cost-effectiveness, scalability, and capacity of SMS text messaging-based interventions.

A Comparative Effectiveness Review: RESPONSIVENESS OF PATIENT OUTCOME MEASURES IN CARDIAC AND PULMONARY REHABILITATION

BACKGROUND

Cardiac and pulmonary rehabilitation have been shown to reduce the symptoms of disease, as well as reducing health care utilization. To ensure the continuation of these programs, patient outcome measures (POMs) are essential to map treatment effectiveness. This review is a comparative effectiveness literature review of studies with a pre- to post-POM assessment of responsiveness (ie, change in health status over time).

METHODS

A quality review of the literature included not only randomized controlled trials but also parallel studies, as well as all observational and retrospective trials. This review included a list of articles and their characteristics; a quality assessment of the literature and a list of POMs utilized in this setting were assessed for responsiveness.

RESULTS

There was inconsistency in the literature with the measurement of responsiveness or effect size. The most commonly used POM was the SF-36; however, it was found to be less responsive to change in health status pre- to post-rehabilitation, particularly in the mental domain of this instrument. The most responsive POM in this setting was the Global Mood Scale.

CONCLUSION

The surveyed literature found no "gold standard" POM for either cardiac rehabilitation or pulmonary rehabilitation but there was some preference for the disease-specific POMs; however, some of these instruments lose their discriminatory power at the end of the rehabilitation period. This literature review found that a Likert scale is more responsive than a dichotomous scale and that a simple questionnaire is more responsive in a pre- to post-setting than a complex questionnaire.

Importance of Completing Hybrid Cardiac Rehabilitation for Long-Term Outcomes: A Real-World Evaluation

Community-based hybrid cardiac rehabilitation (CR) programs offer a viable alternative to conventional centre-based CR, however their long-term benefits are unknown. We conducted a secondary analysis of the CR Participation Study conducted in London, Ontario, between 2003 and 2006. CR eligible patients hospitalized for a major cardiac event, who resided within 60 min, were referred to a hybrid CR program; 381 of 544 (64%) referred patients initiated CR; an additional 1,498 CR eligible patients were not referred due to distance. For the present study, CR participants were matched using propensity scores to CR eligible non-participants who resided beyond 60 min, yielding 214 matched pairs. Subjects were followed for a mean (standard deviation, SD) of 8.56 (3.38) years for the outcomes of mortality or re-hospitalization for a major cardiac event. Hybrid CR participation was associated with a non-significant 16% lower event rate (Hazard Ratio [HR]: 0.84, 95% CI: 0.59⁻1.17). When restricting to pairs where CR participants achieved a greater than 0.5 metabolic equivalent exercise capacity increase (123 pairs), CR completion was associated with a 51% lower event rate (HR: 0.49, 95% CI: 0.29⁻0.81). Successful completion of a community-based hybrid CR program may be associated with decreased long-term mortality or recurrent cardiac events.

Secondary prevention therapies in acute coronary syndrome and relation to outcomes: observational study

Objective

To ascertain the use of secondary prevention medications and cardiac rehabilitation after an acute coronary syndrome (ACS) and the impact on 2-year outcomes.

Methods

CONCORDANCE (Cooperative National Registry of Acute Coronary care, Guideline Adherence and Clinical Events) is a prospective, observational registry of 41 Australian hospitals. A representative sample of 6859 patients with an ACS and 6 months’ follow-up on 31 May 2016 were included. The main outcome measure was use of ≥75% of indicated medications (≥4/5 (or ≥3/4 if contraindicated) of angiotensin-converting enzyme (ACE) inhibitor/angiotensin receptor blocker, beta-blocker, lipid-lowering therapy, aspirin and other antiplatelet). Major adverse cardiovascular events (MACE) included myocardial infarction, stroke or cardiovascular death.

Results

The mean age was 65±13 years, 29% were women, and the mean Global Registry of Acute Coronary Events (GRACE) score was 106±30. At discharge, 92% were on aspirin, 93% lipid-lowering therapy, 78% beta-blocker, 74% ACE/angiotensin receptor blocker and 73% a second antiplatelet; 89% were taking ≥75% of medications at discharge, 78% at 6 months and 66% at 2 years. At 6 months, 38% attended cardiac rehabilitation, 58% received dietary advice and 32% of smokers reported quitting. Among 1896 patients followed to 2 years, death/MACE was less frequent among patients on ≥75% vs <75% of medications (8.3% vs 13.9%; adjusted OR 0.75, 95 % CI 0.56 to 0.99), and was less frequent in patients who attended versus who did not attend cardiac rehabilitation (4.6% vs 13.4%; adjusted OR 0.44, 95% CI 0.31 to 0.62).

Conclusions

Use of secondary prevention therapies diminishes over time following an ACS. Patients receiving secondary prevention had decreased rates of death and MACE at 2 years.

SMARTphone and social media-based Cardiac Rehabilitation and Secondary Prevention (SMART-CR/SP) for patients with coronary heart disease in China: a randomised controlled trial protocol

INTRODUCTION

The burden of cardiovascular disease (CVD) is rapidly increasing in developing countries, however access to cardiac rehabilitation and secondary prevention (CR/SP) in these countries is limited. Alternative delivery models that are low-cost and easy to access are urgently needed to address this service gap. The objective of this study is to investigate whether a smartphone and social media-based (WeChat) home CR/SP programme can facilitate risk factor monitoring and modification to improve disease self-management and health outcomes in patients with coronary heart disease (CHD), after percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) therapy.

METHODS AND ANALYSIS

We propose a single-blind, randomised controlled trial of 300 patients post-PCI with follow-up over 12 months. The intervention group will receive a smartphone-based and WeChat-based CR/SP programme providing education and support for risk factor monitoring and modification. SMART-CR/SP incorporates core components of modern CR/SP: physical activity tracking with interactive feedback and goal setting; education modules addressing CHD understanding and self-management; remote blood pressure monitoring and strategies to improve medication adherence. Furthermore, a dedicated data portal and a CR/SP coach will facilitate individualised supervision and counselling. The control group will receive usual care but no formal CR/SP programme. The primary outcome is change in exercise capacity measured by 6 minute walk test distance. Secondary outcomes include knowledge and awareness of CHD, risk factor status, medication adherence, psychological well-being and quality of life, major cardiovascular events, re-hospitalisations and all-cause mortality. To assess the feasibility and patients' acceptance of the intervention, a process evaluation will be performed at the conclusion of the study.

ETHICS AND DISSEMINATION

Ethics approval was granted by both the Human Research Ethics Committee of Fudan University Zhongshan Hospital (HREC B2016-058) and Curtin University Human Research Ethics Office (HRE2016-0120). Results will be disseminated via peer-reviewed publications and presentations at conferences.

CLINICAL TRIAL REGISTRATION NUMBER

ChiCTR-INR-16009598; Pre-results.

Perceptions of Cardiology Administrators About Cardiac Rehabilitation in South America and the Caribbean

BACKGROUND

Cardiac rehabilitation (CR) programs can address the cardiovascular disease epidemic in South America. However, there are factors limiting CR access at the patient, provider, and system levels. The latter 2 have not been extensively studied. The objective of this study was to investigate cardiology administrator's awareness and knowledge of CR and perceptions regarding resources for CR.

METHODS

This study was cross-sectional and observational in design. Cardiology administrators from South American and Caribbean countries were invited to participate by members of a professional association. Participants completed a questionnaire online. Descriptive analysis was performed and differences in CR knowledge, awareness, perception, and attitudes regarding CR were described overall, by institution funding source (private vs public) and presence of within-institution CR (yes vs no).

RESULTS

Most of the 55 respondents from 8 countries perceived CR as important for outpatient care (mean ± SD = 4.83 ± 0.38 out of 5; higher scores indicating more positive perceptions), with benefits including reduced hospital readmissions (4.31 ± 0.48) and length of stay (4.64 ± 0.71 days), not only for cardiac patients but for those with other vascular conditions (4.34 ± 0.68 days). Those working in public institutions (50.9%) and in institutions without a CR program (25.0%) were not as aware of, and less likely to value, CR services (P < .05). Only 13.2% of programs had dedicated funding.

CONCLUSIONS

Similar to findings from high-income settings, cardiology administrators and cardiologists in South America value CR as part of cardiac patient care, but funding and availability of programs restrict capacity to deliver these services.

Design and rationale of the Cardiovascular Health and Text Messaging (CHAT) Study and the CHAT-Diabetes Mellitus (CHAT-DM) Study: two randomised controlled trials of text messaging to improve secondary prevention for coronary heart disease and diabetes

INTRODUCTION

Mobile health interventions have the potential to promote risk factor management and lifestyle modification, and are a particularly attractive approach for scaling across healthcare systems with limited resources. We are conducting two randomised trials to evaluate the efficacy of text message-based health messages in improving secondary coronary heart disease (CHD) prevention among patients with or without diabetes.

METHODS AND ANALYSIS

The Cardiovascular Health And Text Messaging (CHAT) Study and the CHAT-Diabetes Mellitus (CHAT-DM) Study are multicentre, single-blind, randomised controlled trials of text messaging versus standard treatment with 6 months of follow-up conducted in 37 hospitals throughout 17 provinces in China. The intervention group receives six text messages per week which target blood pressure control, medication adherence, physical activity, smoking cessation (when appropriate), glucose monitoring and lifestyle recommendations including diet (in CHAT-DM). The text messages were developed based on behavioural change techniques, using models such as the information-motivation-behavioural skills model, goal setting and provision of social support. A total sample size of 800 patients would be adequate for CHAT Study and sample size of 500 patients would be adequate for the CHAT-DM Study. In CHAT, the primary outcome is the change in systolic blood pressure (SBP) at 6 months. Secondary outcomes include a change in proportion of patients achieving a SBP <140 mm Hg, low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C), physical activity, medication adherence, body mass index (BMI) and smoking cessation. In CHAT-DM, the primary outcome is the change in glycaemic haemoglobin (HbA_1C) at 6 months. Secondary outcomes include a change in the proportion of patients achieving HbA_1C<7%, fasting blood glucose, SBP, LDL-C, BMI, physical activity and medication adherence.

ETHICS AND DISSEMINATION

The central ethics committee at the China National Center for Cardiovascular Disease and the Yale University Institutional Review Board approved the CHAT and CHAT-DM studies. Results will be disseminated via usual scientific forums including peer-reviewed publications.

TRIAL REGISTRATION NUMBER

CHAT (NCT02888769) and CHAT-DM (NCT02883842); Pre-results.

The Contribution of Individual Exercise Training Components to Clinical Outcomes in Randomised Controlled Trials of Cardiac Rehabilitation: A Systematic Review and Meta-regression

BACKGROUND

While the clinical benefits of exercise-based cardiac rehabilitation are well established, there is extensive variation in the interventions used within these trials. It is unknown whether variations in individual components of these exercise interventions provide different relative contributions to overall clinical outcomes. This study aims to systematically examine the relationship between individual components of the exercise intervention in cardiac rehabilitation (such as intensity and frequency) and clinical outcomes for people with coronary heart disease.

METHODS

In this systematic review, eligible trials were identified via searches of databases (PubMed, Allied and Complementary Medicine, EMBASE, PEDro, Science Citation Index Expanded, CINAHL, The Cochrane Library, SPORTDiscus) from citation tracking and hand-searching. Studies were included if they were randomised trials of a structured exercise intervention (versus usual care) for participants with coronary heart disease and reported at least one of cardiovascular mortality, total mortality, myocardial infarction or revascularisation outcomes. Each included trial was assessed using the Cochrane Risk of Bias Tool. Authors were also contacted for missing intervention details or data. Random effects meta-analysis was performed to calculate a summary risk ratio (RR) with 95% confidence interval (CI) for the effect of exercise on outcomes. Random effects meta-regression and subgroup analyses were conducted to examine the association between pre-specified co-variates (exercise components or trial characteristics) and each clinical outcome.

RESULTS

Sixty-nine trials were included, evaluating 72 interventions which differed markedly in terms of exercise components. Exercise-based cardiac rehabilitation was effective in reducing cardiovascular mortality (RR 0.74, 95% CI 0.65 to 0.86), total mortality (RR 0.90, 95% CI 0.83 to 0.99) and myocardial infarction (RR 0.80, 95% CI 0.70 to 0.92). This effect generally demonstrated no significant differences across subgroups of patients who received various types of usual care, more or less than 150 min of exercise per week and of differing cardiac aetiologies. There was however some heterogeneity observed in the efficacy of cardiac rehabilitation in reducing total mortality based on the presence of lipid lowering therapy (I 2 = 48%, p = 0.15 for subgroup treatment interaction effect). No single exercise component was identified through meta-regression as a significant predictor of mortality outcomes, although reductions in both total (RR 0.81, p = 0.042) and cardiovascular mortality (RR 0.72, p = 0.045) were observed in trials which reported high levels of participant exercise adherence, versus those which reported lower levels. A dose-response relationship was found between an increasing exercise session time and increasing risk of myocardial infarction (RR 1.01, p = 0.011) and the highest intensity of exercise prescribed and an increasing risk of percutaneous coronary intervention (RR 1.05, p = 0.047).

CONCLUSIONS

Exercise-based cardiac rehabilitation is effective at reducing important clinical outcomes in patients with coronary heart disease. While our analysis was constrained by the quality of included trials and missing information about intervention components, there appears to be little differential effect of variations in exercise intervention, particularly on mortality outcomes. Given the observed effect between higher adherence and improved outcomes, it may be more important to provide exercise-based cardiac rehabilitation programs which focus on achieving increased adherence to the exercise intervention.

Effects of person-centred care after an event of acute coronary syndrome: Two-year follow-up of a randomised controlled trial

AIM

To assess the long-term effect of person-centred care (PCC) in patients with acute coronary syndrome (ACS).

METHOD

Patients with ACS were randomly assigned to treatment as usual (control group) or an added PCC intervention for six months. The primary endpoint was a composite score of changes in general self-efficacy≥five units, return to work or to a prior activity level and re-hospitalisation or death.

RESULTS

The composite score improved in the PCC intervention group (n=94) at a two-year follow-up compared with the control group (n=105) (18.1%, n=17 vs. 10.5%, n=11; P=0.127). In the per-protocol analysis (n=183) the improvement was significant in favour of the PCC intervention (n=78) compared with usual care (n=105) (21.8%, n=17 vs. 10.5%, n=11; P=0.039). This effect was driven by the finding that more patients in the PCC group improved their general self-efficacy score≥5units (32.2%, n=19 vs. 17.3%, n=14; P=0.046). The composite score improvement was significantly higher in the PCC intervention group without post-secondary education (n=33) in comparison with corresponding patients in the control group (n=50) (30.3%, n=10 vs. 10.0%, n=5; P=0.024).

CONCLUSION

Implementation of PCC results in sustained improvements in health outcome in patients with ACS. PCC can be incorporated into conventional cardiac prevention programmes to improve equity in uptake and patient health outcomes.

TRIAL REGISTRATION

Swedish registry, Researchweb.org, ID NR 65791.

Patient education in the management of coronary heart disease

BACKGROUND

Coronary heart disease (CHD) is the single most common cause of death globally. However, with falling CHD mortality rates, an increasing number of people live with CHD and may need support to manage their symptoms and improve prognosis. Cardiac rehabilitation is a complex multifaceted intervention which aims to improve the health outcomes of people with CHD. Cardiac rehabilitation consists of three core modalities: education, exercise training and psychological support. This is an update of a Cochrane systematic review previously published in 2011, which aims to investigate the specific impact of the educational component of cardiac rehabilitation.

OBJECTIVES

1. To assess the effects of patient education delivered as part of cardiac rehabilitation, compared with usual care on mortality, morbidity, health-related quality of life (HRQoL) and healthcare costs in patients with CHD.2. To explore the potential study level predictors of the effects of patient education in patients with CHD (e.g. individual versus group intervention, timing with respect to index cardiac event).

SEARCH METHODS

We updated searches from the previous Cochrane review, by searching the Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials (CENTRAL) (Cochrane Library, Issue 6, 2016), MEDLINE (Ovid), Embase (Ovid), PsycINFO (Ovid) and CINAHL (EBSCO) in June 2016. Three trials registries, previous systematic reviews and reference lists of included studies were also searched. No language restrictions were applied.

SELECTION CRITERIA

1. Randomised controlled trials (RCTs) where the primary interventional intent was education delivered as part of cardiac rehabilitation.2. Studies with a minimum of six-months follow-up and published in 1990 or later.3. Adults with a diagnosis of CHD.

DATA COLLECTION AND ANALYSIS

Two review authors independently screened all identified references for inclusion based on the above inclusion criteria. One author extracted study characteristics from the included trials and assessed their risk of bias; a second review author checked data. Two independent reviewers extracted outcome data onto a standardised collection form. For dichotomous variables, risk ratios and 95% confidence intervals (CI) were derived for each outcome. Heterogeneity amongst included studies was explored qualitatively and quantitatively. Where appropriate and possible, results from included studies were combined for each outcome to give an overall estimate of treatment effect. Given the degree of clinical heterogeneity seen in participant selection, interventions and comparators across studies, we decided it was appropriate to pool studies using random-effects modelling. We planned to undertake subgroup analysis and stratified meta-analysis, sensitivity analysis and meta-regression to examine potential treatment effect modifiers. We used the Grading of Recommendations Assessment, Development and Evaluation (GRADE) approach to evaluate the quality of the evidence and the GRADE profiler (GRADEpro GDT) to create summary of findings tables.

MAIN RESULTS

This updated review included a total of 22 trials which randomised 76,864 people with CHD to an education intervention or a 'no education' comparator. Nine new trials (8215 people) were included for this update. We judged most included studies as low risk of bias across most domains. Educational 'dose' ranged from one 40 minute face-to-face session plus a 15 minute follow-up call, to a four-week residential stay with 11 months of follow-up sessions. Control groups received usual medical care, typically consisting of referral to an outpatient cardiologist, primary care physician, or both.We found evidence of no difference in effect of education-based interventions on total mortality (13 studies, 10,075 participants; 189/5187 (3.6%) versus 222/4888 (4.6%); random effects risk ratio (RR) 0.80, 95% CI 0.60 to 1.05; moderate quality evidence). Individual causes of mortality were reported rarely, and we were unable to report separate results for cardiovascular mortality or non-cardiovascular mortality. There was evidence of no difference in effect of education-based interventions on fatal and/or non fatal myocardial infarction (MI) (2 studies, 209 participants; 7/107 (6.5%) versus 12/102 (11.8%); random effects RR 0.63, 95% CI 0.26 to 1.48; very low quality of evidence). However, there was some evidence of a reduction with education in fatal and/or non-fatal cardiovascular events (2 studies, 310 studies; 21/152 (13.8%) versus 61/158 (38.6%); random effects RR 0.36, 95% CI 0.23 to 0.56; low quality evidence). There was evidence of no difference in effect of education on the rate of total revascularisations (3 studies, 456 participants; 5/228 (2.2%) versus 8/228 (3.5%); random effects RR 0.58, 95% CI 0.19 to 1.71; very low quality evidence) or hospitalisations (5 studies, 14,849 participants; 656/10048 (6.5%) versus 381/4801 (7.9%); random effects RR 0.93, 95% CI 0.71 to 1.21; very low quality evidence). There was evidence of no difference between groups for all cause withdrawal (17 studies, 10,972 participants; 525/5632 (9.3%) versus 493/5340 (9.2%); random effects RR 1.04, 95% CI 0.88 to 1.22; low quality evidence). Although some health-related quality of life (HRQoL) domain scores were higher with education, there was no consistent evidence of superiority across all domains.

AUTHORS' CONCLUSIONS

We found no reduction in total mortality, in people who received education delivered as part of cardiac rehabilitation, compared to people in control groups (moderate quality evidence). There were no improvements in fatal or non fatal MI, total revascularisations or hospitalisations, with education. There was some evidence of a reduction in fatal and/or non-fatal cardiovascular events with education, but this was based on only two studies. There was also some evidence to suggest that education-based interventions may improve HRQoL. Our findings are supportive of current national and international clinical guidelines that cardiac rehabilitation for people with CHD should be comprehensive and include educational interventions together with exercise and psychological therapy. Further definitive research into education interventions for people with CHD is needed.

Outcomes of a multidisciplinary coronary heart disease prevention programme in southern India

OBJECTIVE

Coronary heart disease (CHD) is a major cause for mortality and morbidity in India but the focus on lifestyle interventions is very low. This study aims to evaluate the role of a multidisciplinary CHD prevention programme in southern India.

METHODS

All patients enrolled between May 2014 and March 2016 with CHD (disease group) or with risk factors but no CHD (risk group) were included. Participants attended one-two sessions per week for 6-12 weeks; each session lasted 90-120 min, including exercise and education, and was adapted to the participants' sociocultural requirements. Resting heart rate, systolic and diastolic blood pressure, body mass index (BMI), waist circumference (WC) and functional capacity (FC) were documented at start and end of programme.

RESULTS

Disease group was older (61±10 vs 51±14  years, p<0.01), had lower BMI and WC (26±4 vs 30±7 kg/m², p<0.01; 39±4 vs 42±5 inches, p<0.01), attended more sessions (12±7 vs 6±3, p<0.0001) and had higher completion rates (82% vs 53%, p=0.02) than the risk group. Programme-completers (n=45, 67%) showed significant improvement in health-related behaviour, angina threshold (in all 8 subjects with stable angina), BMI (p=0.03), WC (p<0.01) and FC (p<0.01). Follow-up for a period of 16±6 months showed continued adherence to the healthy behaviour (n=44, 1 lost to follow-up) and maintenance of anthropometric and FC parameters.

CONCLUSIONS

A multidisciplinary approach to preventing CHD is lacking in India. This study shows that a comprehensive lifestyle intervention programme has significant benefits and can be incorporated in the routine management of all patients and at-risk individuals in the region.

Ensuring Cardiac Rehabilitation Access for the Majority of Those in Need: A Call to Action for Canada

Cardiac rehabilitation (CR) is a proven model of secondary prevention. Indicated cardiac conditions for CR are well established, and participation of these patients results in significantly lower mortality and morbidity when compared with usual care. There are approximately 170 CR programs in Canada, which varies widely by province. There is a grossly insufficient capacity to treat all patients with cardiac indications in Canada and beyond. The density of CR services is about half that in the United States, at 1 program per 208,823 inhabitants or 1 program per 7779 patients with cardiac disease. Despite the Canadian Cardiovascular Society's target of 85% referral for CR for cardiac inpatients with the appropriate indications, significantly fewer patients are referred for CR. Moreover, certain patient groups-such as women, ethnocultural minorities, and those of low socioeconomic status-are less likely to access CR, despite greater need because of poorer outcomes. CR appears to be reaching a healthier population that is perhaps more adherent to secondary prevention recommendations and hence in less need of the limited CR spots available. The reasons for CR underuse are well established and include factors at patient, referring provider, CR program, and health system levels. A Cochrane review has established some effective interventions to increase CR use, and these must be implemented more broadly. We must advocate for CR reimbursement. Finally, we must reallocate our CR resources to patients with the greatest need. This may involve risk stratification, with subsequent allocation of lower-risk patients to a more widely available, lower-cost, and effective alternative model of CR.

Effectiveness of person-centred care after acute coronary syndrome in relation to educational level: Subgroup analysis of a two-armed randomised controlled trial

AIM

The aim of this study was to evaluate the effects of person-centred care (PCC) after acute coronary syndrome (ACS) in relation to educational level of participants.

METHOD

199 Patients <75years with ACS were randomised to PCC plus usual care or usual care alone and followed for 6months from hospital to outpatient care and primary care. For the PCC group, patients and health care professionals co-created a PCC health plan reflecting both perspectives, which induced a continued collaboration in person-centred teams at each health care level. A composite score of changes that included general self-efficacy assessment, return to work or previous activity level, re-hospitalisation or death was used as outcome measure.

RESULTS

In the group of patients without postsecondary education (n=90) the composite score showed a significant improvement in favour of the PCC intervention (n=40) vs. usual care (n=50) at six months (35.0%, n=14 vs. 16.0%, n=8; odds ratio (OR)=2.8, 95% confidence interval (CI): 1.0-7.7, P=0.041). In patients with postsecondary education (n=109), a non-significant difference in favour of the PCC intervention (n=54) vs. usual care (n=55) was observed in the composite score (13.0%, n=7 vs 3.6%, n=2; OR=3.9, 95% CI: 0.8-19.9, P=0.097).

CONCLUSION

A PCC approach, which stresses the necessity of a patient-health care professional partnership, is beneficial in patients with low education after an ACS event. Because these patients have been identified as a vulnerable group in cardiac rehabilitation, we suggest that PCC can be integrated into conventional cardiac rehabilitation programmes to improve both equity in uptake and health outcomes.

TRIAL REGISTRATION

Swedish registry, Researchweb.org, ID NR 65 791.

Factors associated with enrollment and adherence in outpatient cardiac rehabilitation in Japan

PURPOSE

Despite the effectiveness of cardiac rehabilitation (CR), the participation percentage is low in Japan. Therefore, we investigated factors associated with enrollment and adherence in outpatient cardiac rehabilitation (OCR) in Japan.

METHODS

This was a single-hospital, case-controlled study. During a 2-year study period, 544 patients were hospitalized for ischemic heart disease, heart failure, or open heart surgery, and recommended for in-hospital CR. Among them, 78 OCR participants and 179 randomly selected nonparticipants were included in the study. These 2 groups were compared to examine factors associated with OCR enrollment. In addition, OCR participants were divided into those who continued OCR for 3 months (adherence group) and those who did not (nonadherence group), and these 2 groups were compared to examine factors associated with OCR adherence. Univariate and multivariate logistic regression analyses were conducted for both objectives and included sociodemographic, clinical, and OCR-related variables.

RESULTS

OCR enrollment was significantly associated with younger age (OR, 0.96; 95% CI, 0.93-0.98) and shorter distance to the hospital (OR, 0.97; 95% CI, 0.95-0.99). OCR adherence was significantly associated with a history of ischemic heart disease (OR, 6.03; 95% CI, 1.62-22.5) and prescription of antidepressants and/or sleeping pills (OR, 4.14; 95% CI, 1.07-16.0).

CONCLUSIONS

The main factors associated with OCR enrollment and adherence were sociodemographic factors related to easier hospital access and clinical conditions that reflected high disease awareness, respectively.

Person-centred care improves self-efficacy to control symptoms after acute coronary syndrome: a randomized controlled trial

BACKGROUND

Person-centred care (PCC) aims to engage patients as active partners in their care and treatment to improve the management of their illness. Self-efficacy is an important concept and outcome in PCC as it refers to a patient's belief in their capability to manage the events that affect their lives. Recovery after acute coronary syndrome (ACS) is demanding and a PCC approach may promote self-efficacy and thereby facilitate recovery.

AIM

The purpose of this study was to evaluate whether a PCC intervention was able to improve self-efficacy after hospitalization for ACS.

METHODS

In a randomized controlled trial, patients <75 years of age and hospitalized for ACS were assigned to either a usual care group or a PCC intervention group. Self-efficacy was assessed at baseline and up to six months after discharge using the Swedish Cardiac Self-Efficacy Scale (S-CSES), which consists of three dimensions: control symptoms, control illness and maintain functioning.

RESULTS

In total, 177 patients were included in the study: 93 in the usual care group and 84 in the PCC group. At the one-month follow-up the PCC group had improved significantly more (p=0.049) on the control symptoms dimension (mean change 0.81; SD 3.5 versus mean change -0.20; SD 3.0). No difference between groups was seen at the six-month follow-up in any of the S-CSES dimensions.

CONCLUSIONS

Our results indicate that PCC added to usual care promotes and hastens the development of patients' confidence in their ability to manage symptoms during recovery after ACS. This underlines the importance of initiating and establishing partnerships between patients and health care professionals as early as possible after ACS.

A secondary meta-synthesis of qualitative studies of gender and access to cardiac rehabilitation

AIMS

To discuss issues in the theorization and study of gender observed during a qualitative meta-synthesis of influences on uptake of secondary prevention and cardiac rehabilitation services.

BACKGROUND

Women and men can equally benefit from secondary prevention/cardiac rehabilitation and there is a need to understand gender barriers to uptake.

DESIGN

Meta-method analysis secondary to meta-synthesis. For the meta-synthesis, a systematic search was performed to identify and retrieve studies published as full papers during or after 1995 and contained: a qualitative research component wholly or in a mixed method design, extractable population specific data or themes for referral to secondary prevention programmes and adults ≥18 years.

DATA SOURCES

Databases searched between January 1995-31 October 2011 included: CSA Sociological Abstracts, EBSCOhost CINAHL, EBSCOhost Gender Studies, EBSCOhost Health Source Nursing: Academic Edition, EBSCOhost SPORTDiscus, EBSCOhost SocINDEX.

REVIEW METHODS

Studies were reviewed against inclusion/exclusion criteria. Included studies were subject to quality appraisal and standardized data extraction.

RESULTS

Of 2264 screened articles, 69 were included in the meta-method analysis. Only four studies defined gender or used gender theories. Findings were mostly presented as inherently the characteristic of gendered worldviews of participants. The major themes suggest a mismatch between secondary prevention/cardiac rehabilitation services and consumers' needs, which are usually portrayed as differing according to gender but may also be subject to intersecting influences such as age or socioeconomic status.

CONCLUSION

There is a persistent lack of theoretically informed gender analysis in qualitative literature in this field. Theory-driven gender analysis will improve the conceptual clarity of the evidence base for gender-sensitive cardiac rehabilitation programme development.

Cardiac rehabilitation in low- and middle-income countries: a review on cost and cost-effectiveness

BACKGROUND

By 2030, more than 80% of cardiovascular disease-related deaths and disability-adjusted life years will occur in the 139 low- and middle-income (LMIC) countries. Cardiac rehabilitation (CR) has been demonstrated to be effective and cost-effective mainly based on data from high-income countries. The purpose of this paper was to review the literature for cost and cost-effectiveness data on CR in LMICs.

METHODS

MEDLINE (Ovid) and EMBASE (Ovid) electronic databases were searched for CR 'cost' and 'cost-effectiveness' data in LMICs.

RESULTS

Five CR publications with cost and cost-effectiveness data from middle-income countries were identified with none from low-income countries. Studies from Brazil demonstrated mean monthly savings of US$190 for CR, with a US$48 increase in a control group with mean costs of US$503 for a 3-month CR program. Mean costs to the public health care system of US$360 and US$540 when paid out-of-pocket were reported for a 3-month CR program in seven Latin American middle-income countries. Cardiac rehabilitation is reported to be cost-effective in both Brazil and Colombia.

CONCLUSIONS

Cardiac rehabilitation for patients with heart failure in Brazil and Colombia was estimated to be cost-effective. However, given the limited health care budgets in many LMICs, affordable CR models will need to be developed for LMICs, particularly for low-income countries.

Person-centred care after acute coronary syndrome, from hospital to primary care - A randomised controlled trial

AIM

To evaluate if person-centred care can improve self-efficacy and facilitate return to work or prior activity level in patients after an event of acute coronary syndrome.

METHOD

199 patients with acute coronary syndrome < 75 years were randomly assigned to person-centred care intervention or treatment as usual and followed for 6 months. In the intervention group a person-centred care process was added to treatment as usual, emphasising the patient as a partner in care. Care was co-created in collaboration between patients, physicians, registered nurses and other health care professionals and documented in a health plan. A team-based partnership across three health care levels included transparent knowledge about the disease and medical state to achieve agreed goals during recovery. Main outcome measure was a composite score of changes in general self-efficacy ≥ 5 units, return to work or prior activity level and re-hospitalisation or death.

RESULTS

The composite score showed that more patients (22.3%, n=21) improved in the intervention group at 6 months compared to the control group (9.5%, n=10) (odds ratio, 2.7; 95% confidence interval: 1.2-6.2; P=0.015). The effect was driven by improved self-efficacy ≥ 5 units in the intervention group. Overall general self-efficacy improved significantly more in the intervention group compared with the control group (P=0.026). There was no difference between groups on re-hospitalisation or death, return to work or prior activity level.

CONCLUSION

A person-centred care approach emphasising the partnership between patients and health care professionals throughout the care chain improves general self-efficacy without causing worsening clinical events.

A comparison of the cost-effectiveness of two pedometer-based telephone coaching programs for people with cardiac disease

INTRODUCTION

Following a cardiac event it is recommended that cardiac patients participate in cardiac rehabilitation (CR) programs. However, little is known about the relative cost-effectiveness of lifestyle-related interventions for cardiac patients. This study aimed to compare the cost-effectiveness of a telephone-delivered Healthy Weight intervention to a telephone-delivered Physical Activity intervention for patients referred to CR in urban and rural Australia.

METHODS

A cost-utility analysis was conducted alongside a randomised controlled trial of the two interventions. Outcomes were measured as Quality Adjusted Life Years (QALYs) gained.

RESULTS

The estimated cost of delivering the interventions was $201.48 per Healthy Weight participant and $138.00 per Physical Activity participant. The average total cost (cost of health care utilisation plus patient costs) was $1,260 per Healthy Weight participant and $2,112 per Physical Activity participant, a difference of $852 in favour of the Healthy Weight intervention. Healthy Weight participants gained an average of 0.007 additional QALYs than did Physical Activity participants. Thus, overall the Healthy Weight intervention dominated the Physical Activity intervention (Healthy Weight intervention was less costly and more effective than the Physical Activity intervention). Subgroup analyses showed the Healthy Weight intervention also dominated the Physical Activity intervention for rural participants and for participants who did not attend CR.

CONCLUSIONS

The low-contact pedometer-based telephone coaching Healthy Weight intervention is overall both less costly and more effective compared to the Physical Activity intervention, including for rural cardiac patients and patients that do not attend CR.

Are cardiovascular trial results systematically different between North America and Europe? A study based on intra-meta-analysis comparisons

BACKGROUND

It is often assumed that differences in the efficacy of treatments between countries (or regions) will be neither negligible nor minor and therefore cannot be overlooked when assessing the potential benefit of treatments in one country (or region) on the basis of trials conducted in another country (or region).

AIM

To assess differences in the results of cardiovascular trials between Europe and North America on the basis of data from an extensive collection of trials.

METHODS

A systematic search was conducted of Medline (from the year 2005 to 2008) and the Cochrane Library (from 2000 to 2008) for all meta-analyses of randomized controlled trials aimed at treating and preventing cardiovascular disease. Within each meta-analysis that satisfied given criteria, trial results were compared between Europe and North America with respect to a fatal and/or non-fatal endpoint by forming separate estimates of treatment efficacy for each of these continents.

RESULTS

The literature search found 59 meta-analyses that satisfied all the inclusion criteria. For most meta-analyses, it was the case that relative to the control, the intervention was more favoured in trials conducted in Europe than in North America with regard to both fatal endpoints (28 out of 43 meta-analyses) and non-fatal endpoints (28 out of 40 meta-analyses). However, it was only with regard to non-fatal endpoints that this imbalance turned out to be statistically significant at the 5% level (P=0.017). Also, the lack of statistically significant differences in trial results between Europe and North America within individual meta-analyses meant that it was not possible to determine for which types of intervention these intercontinental differences are likely to be more pronounced than others.

CONCLUSION

There is some evidence to support the theory that, relative to controls, interventions are more favoured in cardiovascular trials conducted in Europe than in North America, when treatment efficacy is measured in terms of a non-fatal endpoint. However, the overall support for systematic differences in cardiovascular trial results between Europe and North America is weak, which may be surprising given the amount of data collected.

Care manager to control cardiovascular risk factors in primary care: the Raffaello cluster randomized trial

BACKGROUND AND AIM

This cluster randomized trial evaluated the efficacy of a disease and care management (D&CM) model in cardiovascular (CVD) prevention in primary care.

METHODS AND RESULTS

Eligible subjects had ≥ 1 among: blood pressure ≥ 140/90 mmHg; glycated hemoglobin ≥ 7%; LDL-cholesterol ≥ 160 or ≥ 100 mg/dL (primary or secondary prevention, respectively); BMI ≥ 30; current smoking. The D&CM intervention included a teamwork including nurses as care managers for the implementation of tailored care plans. Control group was allocated to usual-care. The main outcome was the proportion of subjects achieving recommended clinical targets for ≥ 1 of uncontrolled CVD risk factors at 12-month. During 2008-2009 we enrolled 920 subjects in the Abruzzo/Marche regions, Italy. Following the exclusion of L'Aquila due to 2009 earthquake, final analyses included 762 subjects. The primary outcome was achieved by 39.1% (95%CI: 34.2-44.2) and 25.2% (95%CI: 20.9-29.9) of subjects in the intervention and usual-care group, respectively (p < 0.001). The D&CM intervention significantly increased the proportion of subjects who achieved clinical targets for both diabetes and hypertension, with no differences in hypercholesterolemia, smoking status and obesity.

CONCLUSIONS

The D&CM intervention was effective in controlling cardiovascular risk factors, in particular hypertension and diabetes. Numbers needed to treat were small. Such intervention may deserve further consideration in clinical practice.

REGISTRATION NUMBER

ACTRN12611000813987.

Factors influencing participation in cardiac rehabilitation programmes after referral and initial attendance: qualitative systematic review and meta-synthesis

BACKGROUND

Greater participation in cardiac rehabilitation improves morbidity and mortality in people with coronary heart disease, but little is understood of patients' decisions to participate.

METHODS

To develop interventions aimed at increasing completion of programmes, we conducted a qualitative systematic review and meta-synthesis to explore the complex factors and processes influencing participation in cardiac rehabilitation programmes after referral and initial access. To be included in the review, studies had to contain a qualitative research component, population specific data on programme participation in adults >18 years, and be published ≥1995 as full articles or theses. Ten databases were searched (31 October 2011) using 100+ search terms.

RESULTS

Of 2264 citations identified, 62 studies were included involving: 1646 patients (57% female; mean age 64.2), 143 caregivers, and 79 professionals. Patients' participation was most strongly influenced by perceptions of the nature, suitability and scheduling of programmes, social comparisons made possible by programmes, and the degree to which programmes, providers, and programme users met expectations. Women's experiences of these factors rendered them less likely to complete. Comparatively, perceptions of programme benefits had little influence on participation.

CONCLUSIONS

Factors reducing participation in programmes are varied but amenable to intervention. Participation should be viewed as a 'consumer behaviour' and interventions should mobilize family support, promote 'patient friendly' scheduling, and actively harness the social, identity-related, and experiential aspects of participation.

Alternative models of cardiac rehabilitation: a systematic review

The traditional hospital-based model of cardiac rehabilitation faces substantial challenges, such as cost and accessibility. These challenges have led to the development of alternative models of cardiac rehabilitation in recent years. The aim of this study was to identify and critique evidence for the effectiveness of these alternative models. A total of 22 databases were searched to identify quantitative studies or systematic reviews of quantitative studies regarding the effectiveness of alternative models of cardiac rehabilitation. Included studies were appraised using a Critical Appraisal Skills Programme tool and the National Health and Medical Research Council's designations for Level of Evidence. The 83 included articles described interventions in the following broad categories of alternative models of care: multifactorial individualized telehealth, internet based, telehealth focused on exercise, telehealth focused on recovery, community- or home-based, and complementary therapies. Multifactorial individualized telehealth and community- or home-based cardiac rehabilitation are effective alternative models of cardiac rehabilitation, as they have produced similar reductions in cardiovascular disease risk factors compared with hospital-based programmes. While further research is required to address the paucity of data available regarding the effectiveness of alternative models of cardiac rehabilitation in rural, remote, and culturally and linguistically diverse populations, our review indicates there is no need to rely on hospital-based strategies alone to deliver effective cardiac rehabilitation. Local healthcare systems should strive to integrate alternative models of cardiac rehabilitation, such as brief telehealth interventions tailored to individual's risk factor profiles as well as community- or home-based programmes, in order to ensure there are choices available for patients that best fit their needs, risk factor profile, and preferences.

Factors influencing referral to cardiac rehabilitation and secondary prevention programs: a systematic review

BACKGROUND

Referral to cardiac rehabilitation and secondary prevention programs remains very low, despite evidence suggesting strong clinical efficacy. To develop evidence-based interventions to promote referral, the complex factors and processes influencing referral need to be better understood.

DESIGN

We performed a systematic review using qualitative meta-synthesis.

METHODS

A comprehensive search of 11 databases was conducted. To be included, studies had to contain a qualitative research component wholly or in a mixed method design. Population specific data or themes had to be extractable for referral to programs. Studies had to contain extractable data from adults >18 years and published as full papers or theses during or after 1995.

RESULTS

A total of 2620 articles were retrieved: out of 1687 studies examined, 87 studies contained data pertaining to decisions to participate in programs, 34 of which included data on referral. Healthcare professional, system and patient factors influenced referrals. The main professional barriers were low knowledge or scepticism about benefits, an over-reliance on physicians as gatekeepers and judgments that patients were not likely to participate. Systems factors related to territory, remuneration and insufficient time and workload capacity. Patients had limited knowledge of programs and saw physicians as key elements of referral but found the process of attaining a referral confusing and challenging.

CONCLUSIONS

The greatest increases in patient referral to programs could be achieved by allowing referral from non-physicians or alternatively, automatic referral to a choice of hospital or home-based programs. All referring health professionals should receive educational outreach visits or workshops around the ethical and clinical aspects of programs.

The effect of a comprehensive lifestyle intervention on cardiovascular risk factors in pharmacologically treated patients with stable cardiovascular disease compared to usual care: a randomised controlled trial

BACKGROUND

The additional benefit of lifestyle interventions in patients receiving cardioprotective drug treatment to improve cardiovascular risk profile is not fully established.The objective was to evaluate the effectiveness of a target-driven multidisciplinary structured lifestyle intervention programme of 6 months duration aimed at maximum reduction of cardiovascular risk factors in patients with cardiovascular disease (CVD) compared with usual care.

METHODS

A single centre, two arm, parallel group randomised controlled trial was performed. Patients with stable established CVD and at least one lifestyle-related risk factor were recruited from the vascular and cardiology outpatient departments of the university hospital. Blocked randomisation was used to allocate patients to the intervention (n = 71) or control group (n = 75) using an on-site computer system combined with allocations in computer-generated tables of random numbers kept in a locked computer file. The intervention group received the comprehensive lifestyle intervention offered in a specialised outpatient clinic in addition to usual care. The control group continued to receive usual care. Outcome measures were the lifestyle-related cardiovascular risk factors: smoking, physical activity, physical fitness, diet, blood pressure, plasma total/HDL/LDL cholesterol concentrations, BMI, waist circumference, and changes in medication.

RESULTS

The intervention led to increased physical activity/fitness levels and an improved cardiovascular risk factor profile (reduced BMI and waist circumference). In this setting, cardiovascular risk management for blood pressure and lipid levels by prophylactic treatment for CVD in usual care was already close to optimal as reflected in baseline levels. There was no significant improvement in any other risk factor.

CONCLUSIONS

Even in CVD patients receiving good clinical care and using cardioprotective drug treatment, a comprehensive lifestyle intervention had a beneficial effect on some cardiovascular risk factors. In the present era of cardiovascular therapy and with the increasing numbers of overweight and physically inactive patients, this study confirms the importance of risk factor control through lifestyle modification as a supplement to more intensified drug treatment in patients with CVD.

TRIAL REGISTRATION

ISRCTN69776211 at http://www.controlled-trials.com.

What are the components of complex interventions in healthcare? Theorizing approaches to parts, powers and the whole intervention

The components of complex interventions are frequently discussed, invoked and examined in theory and research but seldom defined. This leads to theoretical and ontological ambiguities, lack of methodological transparency, and potentially, resistance to the wider movement towards complex intervention. This paper is the first to compare and contrast the different approaches that can be taken to the components of complex interventions. Most basically, complex interventions are defined as being composed of parts that make the whole intervention and, in isolation or combination, can generate the power of the intervention. Examples from the field of cardiac rehabilitation are used to illustrate key points. In relation to complex interventions past approaches variously: downplay complexity, focus on the complicatedness of complex interventions, or emphasize the complexity of complex interventions. Thus, approaches can be categorized as viewing components variously as: (1) Non existent parts and powers; (2) Irrelevant parts and powers; (3) Undifferentiated powerful parts; (4) Higher order parts and non-existent lower parts; (5) Higher order parts with non-powerful lower order parts; (6) Higher and lower order parts with powers; and (7) Components as the parts and the whole with powers. Based on this overview, complex interventions should be defined as being formed of parts, which can be material, human, theoretical, social, or procedural in nature, possibly stratified into higher and lower realms, that exercise power individually, in combination, or as emergent properties.

Beyond resolutions? A randomized controlled trial of a self-regulation lifestyle programme for post-cardiac rehabilitation patients

BACKGROUND

As lifestyle adherence and risk factor management following completion of cardiac rehabilitation (CR) have been shown to be problematic, we developed a brief self-regulation lifestyle programme for post-CR patients.

DESIGN

Randomized-controlled trial.

METHODS

Following completion of CR 210 patients were randomized to receive either a lifestyle maintenance programme (n = 112) or standard care (n = 98). The programme was based on self-regulation principles and consisted of a motivational interview, seven group sessions, and home assignments. Risk factors and health behaviours were assessed at baseline (end of CR) and 6 months thereafter.

RESULTS

ANCOVAs showed a significant effect of the lifestyle programme after 6 months on blood pressure, waist circumference, and exercise behaviour.

CONCLUSION

This trial indicates that a relatively brief intervention based on self-regulation theory is capable of instigating and maintaining beneficial changes in lifestyle and risk factors after CR.

Design and rationale of the tobacco, exercise and diet messages (TEXT ME) trial of a text message-based intervention for ongoing prevention of cardiovascular disease in people with coronary disease: a randomised controlled trial protocol

Background Although supporting lifestyle change is an effective way of preventing further events in people with cardiovascular disease, providing access to such interventions is a major challenge. This study aims to investigate whether simple reminders about behaviour change sent via mobile phone text message decrease cardiovascular risk. Methods and analysis Randomised controlled trial with 6 months of follow-up to evaluate the feasibility, acceptability and effect on cardiovascular risk of repeated lifestyle reminders sent via mobile phone text messages compared to usual care. A total of 720 patients with coronary artery disease will be randomised to either standard care or the TEXT ME intervention. The intervention group will receive multiple weekly text messages that provide information, motivation, support to quit smoking (if relevant) and recommendations for healthy diets and exercise. The primary end point is a change in plasma low-density lipoprotein cholesterol at 6 months. Secondary end points include a change in systolic blood pressure, smoking status, quality of life, medication adherence, waist circumference, physical activity levels, nutritional status and mood at 6 months. Process outcomes related to acceptability and feasibility of TEXT ME will also be collected. Ethics and dissemination Primary ethics approval was received from Western Sydney Local Health Network Human Research Ethics Committee-Westmead. Results will be disseminated via the usual scientific forums including peer-reviewed publications and presentations at international conferences. Clinical trials registration number ACTRN12611000161921.

Patient education in the management of coronary heart disease

BACKGROUND

Cardiac rehabilitation (CR) is a complex multifaceted intervention consisting of three core modalities: education, exercise training and psychological support. Whilst exercise and psychological interventions for patients with coronary heart disease (CHD) have been the subject of Cochrane systematic reviews, the specific impact of the educational component of CR has not previously been investigated.

OBJECTIVES

1. Assess effects of patient education on mortality, morbidity, health-related quality of life (HRQofL) and healthcare costs in patients with CHD.2. Explore study level predictors of the effects of patient education (e.g. individual versus group intervention, timing with respect to index cardiac event).

SEARCH METHODS

The following databases were searched: The Cochrane Library, (CENTRAL, CDSR, DARE, HTA, NHSEED), MEDLINE (OVID), EMBASE (OVID), PsycINFO (EBSCOhost) and CINAHL (EBSCOhost). Previous systematic reviews and reference lists of included studies were also searched. No language restrictions were applied.

SELECTION CRITERIA

1. Randomised controlled trials (RCTs) where the primary interventional intent was education.2. Studies with a minimum of six-months follow-up and published in 1990 or later.3. Adults with diagnosis of CHD.

DATA COLLECTION AND ANALYSIS

Two review authors selected studies and extracted data. Attempts were made to contact all study authors to obtain relevant information not available in the published manuscript. For dichotomous variables, risk ratios and 95% confidence intervals (CI) were derived for each outcome. For continuous variables, mean differences and 95% CI were calculated for each outcome.

MAIN RESULTS

Thirteen RCTs involving 68,556 subjects with CHD and follow-up from six to 60 months were found. Overall, methodological quality of included studies was moderate to good. Educational 'dose' ranged from a total of two clinic visits to a four-week residential stay with 11 months of follow-up sessions. Control groups typically received usual medical care. There was no strong evidence of an effect of education on all-cause mortality (Relative Risk (RR): 0.79, 95% CI 0.55 to 1.13), cardiac morbidity (subsequent myocardial infarction RR: 0.63, 95% CI 0.26 to 1.48, revascularisation RR: 0.58, 95% CI 0.19 to 1.71) or hospitalisation (RR: 0.83, 95% CI:0.65 to 1.07). Whilst some HRQofL domain scores were higher with education, there was no consistent evidence of superiority across all domains. Different currencies and years studies were performed making direct comparison of healthcare costs challenging, although there is evidence to suggest education may be cost-saving by reducing subsequent healthcare utilisation.This review had insufficient power to exclude clinically important effects of education on mortality and morbidity of patients with CHD.

AUTHORS' CONCLUSIONS

We did not find strong evidence that education reduced all cause mortality, cardiac morbidity, revascularisation or hospitalisation compared to control. There was some evidence to suggest that education may improve HRQofL and reduce overall healthcare costs. Whilst our findings are generally supportive of current guidelines that CR should include not only exercise and psychological interventions, further research into education is needed.

Effects of a brief cardiovascular prevention program by a health advisor in primary care; the 'Hartslag Limburg' project, a cluster randomized trial

OBJECTIVE

To determine in primary care patients at high risk for a cardiovascular event, the effects on biomedical risk factors for and incidence of cardiovascular events, of a brief cardiovascular prevention program executed by a health advisor.

DESIGN

cluster randomized controlled trial with 1275 patients (24 general practices) in and around Maastricht, the Netherlands (1999-2004).

INTERVENTION

health advisors were to complete computerized cardiovascular risk profiles, provide multi-factorial tailored health education and advice, and communicate with GP's to optimize treatment.

OUTCOME

differences in changes in risk factors between baseline and follow up at 6, 18, and 36 months and incidence of cardiovascular events at 36 months.

PROCESS

Because of logistic reasons risk profiles were put on paper instead of in the computerized patient files. On average patients attended 2.3 counseling sessions. Interaction with GPs was less productive than expected.

OUTCOME

Effect after six months on BMI (-0.20 kg/m(2) (95% CI -0.38 to -0.01, p=0.039), Cohen's d: -0.18), and after 18 months on HDL-cholesterol (+0.05 mmol/l (95% CI +0.01 to +0.09, p=0.014), Cohen's d: 0.14). No other (subgroup) effects were found.

CONCLUSION

Given the lack of clinically meaningful effects, implementation of this intervention in its present form is not justified.

Four-year follow-up of the Choice of Health Options In prevention of Cardiovascular Events randomized controlled trial

OBJECTIVE

To determine if the improved risk factor profile at 1 year attributed to the Choice of Health Options In prevention of Cardiovascular Events (CHOICE) program was maintained at 4 years.

DESIGN

Single-blind randomized controlled trial with post-hoc 476 months follow-up (76% complete).

SETTING

Australian tertiary referral hospital.

PATIENTS

Two hundred and eight acute coronary syndrome survivors.

INTERVENTIONS

Acute coronary syndrome survivors not accessing cardiac rehabilitation (CR) were randomized to control (n=72) or CHOICE (n=72) comprising the tailored risk factor reduction packaged as a clinic visit and 3 months phone support. A contemporary CR reference group were also recruited (n=64). Blinded risk assessment occurred at baseline, 1 and 4 years.

MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES

Total cholesterol, systolic blood pressure, smoking status, physical activity.

RESULTS

One year improvements in all the modifiable risk factors achieved in CHOICE were maintained at 4 years. CHOICE and control were well-matched at baseline. At 4 years, there was a trend towards lower total cholesterol in CHOICE compared with controls (mean 4.0±0.1 vs. 4.2±0.1 mmol/l, P=0.05), significantly better systolic blood pressure (mean 132.2±2.1 vs. 136.8±2.0 mmHg, P=0.01), physical activity scores (1200±209 vs. 968±196 metabolic equivalent min/week, P=0.02) and proportion with three or more risk factors above national targets (20 vs. 42%,P=0.02). Participants in CHOICE were at higher baseline risk than CR but at 4 years they had similar risk factor profiles.

CONCLUSION

Participants in CHOICE maintained favorable changes in coronary risk profile at 4 years compared with control, indicating that CHOICE is an effective long-term intervention among those not accessing facility-based CR.

Design matters in secondary prevention: individualization and supervised exercise improves the effectiveness of cardiac rehabilitation

BACKGROUND

Hospital or centre-based cardiac rehabilitation (CR) can lengthen and improve life. However, most existing trials do not examine the effects of design characteristics. To examine the effects of these characteristics, this study compared an individualized cardiac rehabilitation programme to a standardized programme and examined what factors contributed most to programme effects.

DESIGN

A prospective cohort analysis was done comparing patients using an individualized centre-based cardiac rehabilitation programme (ICR) in a mixed urban-rural region of the west of Scotland, to a standardized cardiac rehabilitation programme (SCR) provided at the same site three years previously. Both inter- and intra-programme differences in outcomes were explored.

RESULTS

More patients were referred to ICR than SCR (749 versus 414 patients, p = 0.002) and the proportion of patients who subsequently attended was around 30% higher (p < 0.0001) although the overall rate of referral to ICR was lower (70% versus 62%, p = 0.002). ICR was associated with a reduction in hospital admission compared to SCR (HR: 0.664: 95% confidence interval (CI) 0.554 to 0.797). ICR patients also had significantly shorter hospitalizations (mean: 8.02 days versus 5.84 days, p < 0.05). ICR patients who attended at least 75% of the exercise sessions were significantly less likely to be hospitalized than individuals who partially attended (HR 2.39, 95% CI: 1.659 to 3.488) or did not participate in exercise sessions (HR 2.16, 95% CI: 1.482 to 3.143).

CONCLUSIONS

Individualized content and supervised exercise components are key design characteristics for improving outcomes from centre-based CR in clinically representative populations.