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Visualization of coronary artery calcification spurs positive lifestyle changes
Symptomatic patients with a new diagnosis of CAD were more likely to make positive lifestyle changes if they were able to look at images of their own calcified coronary arteries and hear brief recommendations, according to a new report.
Researchers assessed the relation of coronary CTA findings shown to patients and augmented with brief recommendations on risk variables and successful adherence to preventive medical therapies and risk modification.
They randomly assigned 189 patients (mean age, 61 years; 57% men; median Agatston score, 166; interquartile range, 101-334) with hyperlipidemia and a new diagnosis of nonobstructive CAD to standard follow-up in general practice or an intervention consisting of visualization of their calcified coronary arteries followed by brief recommendations on cholesterol levels and other risk variables.
The primary outcome was change in serum total cholesterol. Follow-up was 6 months.
Rikke Elmose Mols
Rikke Elmose Mols, RN, MSc, a nurse and PhD student in the department of cardiology at Aarhus University Hospital, Denmark, presented the findings at EuroHeartCare 2015.
In an intention-to-treat analysis, there was a trend toward greater absolute reduction in total cholesterol levels in the intervention group (1.32 mmol/L vs. 1.18 mmol/L; P = .181). In a subgroup analysis (n = 147) that excluded patients who discontinued statin therapy because of adverse effects, the intervention group had greater absolute reduction in total cholesterol levels compared with the control group (1.71 mmol/L vs. 1.44 mmol/L; P = .027), according to the researchers.
Compared with the intervention group, those in the control group were more likely to continue smoking (22% vs. 9%; P = .014) and engage in unhealthy dietary behavior (64% vs. 44%; P = .005). Compared with the control group, the intervention group had more pronounced weight loss (–1.5 kg vs. +0.5 kg; P = .001) and a tendency toward greater degree of statin adherence (P = .056), according to the results.
“Seeing their calcified coronary arteries on the CT image was clearly an eye-opener for patients,” Mols said in a press release. “This may be the wake-up call patients need to take their medication and modify their behaviors to reduce their risk of having a coronary artery event.” – by Erik Swain
Reference:
Mols RE, et al. Abstract 90076. Presented at: EuroHeartCare; June 14-15, 2015; Dubrovnik, Croatia.
Disclosure: Mols reports no relevant financial disclosures.