Educational interventions cut post-MI cardiovascular risk

Patient education programmes after myocardial infarction (MI) have long-lasting positive impacts on cardiovascular risk, a recent study has shown.

Researchers randomly assigned post-MI patients to receive either an educational interventional programme (n=102; median age, 61.0 years; 48 percent male) or to standard-treatment controls (n=96; median age, 60.5 years; 60 percent male). Outcomes were well-established correlates of cardiovascular risk, including low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDLc), systolic blood pressure (SBP), body mass index (BMI) and glycated haemoglobin (HbA1c).

At 12 months, LDLc in the intervention group was 101 mg/dL, which was significantly lower than the 117-mg/dL measurement in controls (p<0.001). LDLc was comparable between arms at baseline, such that the median change values were significantly greater in the intervention group (–54 vs –35 mg/dL; p<0.001).

A similar pattern was reported for SBP, which was 122 mm Hg in the intervention group and 125 mm Hg in the control group (p=0.034), down from 128 mm Hg at baseline in both arms. Median change was likewise greater in the intervention patients (p=0.011).

Baseline BMI was 28 kg/m² in both treatment arms and, after 12 months, changed to 28 and 29 kg/m² in the intervention and control groups, respectively (p=0.034). When considering only diabetic patients, HbA1c likewise showed better 12-month median change values in the intervention group (p=0.021).

“The present data do not elucidate the exact mechanism which led to the observed differences between the study groups, although the overall changes in risk indices suggest better adherence to treatment and lifestyle modification,” researchers said.