Results from the largest ever national programme to target heart disease in the community have shown a significant improvement in blood pressure and cholesterol levels among participants.
Heartwatch, the national general practice programme for the secondary prevention of cardiovascular disease, which has enrolled 10,500 patients since it started in April 2003, has presented its initial report to the Minister of State for Health, Mr Seán Power.
The programme is a partnership between the Department of Health, the health boards, the Irish College of General Practitioners (ICGP) and the Irish Heart Foundation.
The patients had all suffered a previous cardiac event such as a heart attack. Their recruitment to Heartwatch is designed to prevent further heart problems by intervening in risk factors such as high blood pressure, cholesterol and smoking. At initial assessment 44 per cent of patients had a systolic blood pressure above the target range.
Two-thirds had a cholesterol level higher than that recommended, while more than 90 per cent of those in the programme had a waist circumference greater than normal.
Patients attended for four visits during which they were seen by doctors and nurses. Some 31 per cent were referred to a dietician.
A statistically significant improvement in the percentage of patients with normal blood pressure and normal cholesterol was found after the four visits.
The proportion of patients smoking decreased from 13.9 per cent at the first visit to 12.1 per cent at the fourth.
However, no significant improvements were observed in body mass index (BMI) and waist circumference.
Some 74 per cent of patients were on lipid-lowering treatment at the time of the first Heartwatch visit.
This increased to 84 per cent by the fourth visit.