Statement highlights:
-- Combining counseling, extended follow-up from a healthcare provider and self-monitoring of diet and exercise is the most effective behavioral intervention to reduce risk for heart and blood vessel (cardiovascular) diseases.
-- Current healthcare policies should be modified to make it easier for healthcare providers to encourage these measures.
Combining counseling, extended follow-up with a healthcare provider and self-monitoring of diet and exercise is the most effective way to help patients embrace lifestyle changes that can lower their risk for heart and blood vessel (cardiovascular) diseases, according to a scientific statement published in Circulation: Journal of the American Heart Association.
Current healthcare policies should be modified to encourage these interventions, the study's authors said.
"We need to do a better job finding ways to help people not only change their behaviors, but maintain them over a lifetime," said Nancy T. Artinian, Ph.D., R.N., professor, associate dean for research and director of the Center for Health Research at Wayne State University College of Nursing in Detroit, Mich.
"As healthcare providers, we're pretty good at saying that you are at risk for a disease, you need to lose weight, be more physically active, and eat more fruits and vegetables. While that's easy to say, it's not easy for the person to actually translate it into their everyday life."
The statement is based on an extensive review of peer-reviewed scientific studies. Artinian and her co-authors identified several critical parts of effective behavioral change programs, including healthcare providers using a motivational interviewing technique to encourage patients to make healthier lifestyle choices, counseling patients that occasional setbacks are normal, and scheduling recurring follow-up sessions with patients.
The most effective patient-controlled behaviors include setting specific goals for physical activity and dietary improvements, and keeping track of progress towards their goals, Artinian said.
Artinian and her co-authors analyzed 74 studies conducted among U.S. adults between January 1997 and May 2007. The studies measured the effects of behavioral change on blood pressure and cholesterol levels; physical activity and aerobic fitness; and diet, including reduced calorie, fat, cholesterol and salt intake, and increased fruit, vegetable and fiber consumption.
Cardiovascular disease (CVD) is the leading cause of death in the United States. According to American Heart Association statistics, about 81.1 million adults, or one out of every three people in America, have at least one type of CVD, such as heart attack, stroke or heart failure. If cardiovascular diseases were completely eradicated, life expectancy could increase by nearly seven years.