Heartwatch, a secondary prevention programme in primary care was initiated in 2003, based on the second European Joint Task Force recommendations for secondary prevention of coronary heart disease (CHD). The aim was to examine the effect of the first 2 years of the Heartwatch programme on cardiovascular risk factors and treatments.
Design
Prospective cohort study of patients with established CHD enrolled into the Heartwatch programme.
Methods
Four hundred and seventy (20%) general practitioners nationwide participated in the programme, recruiting 11542 patients with established CHD (earlier myocardial infarction, coronary intervention or coronary artery bypass surgery). Clinical data were electronically transferred by each general practitioner to a central database. Comparison of changes in risk factors and treatments at 1-year and 2-year follow-up from baseline were made using paired t-test for continuous and McNemar's test for categorical data.
Results
Statistically significant changes in systolic blood pressure, diastolic blood pressure, total and low-density lipoprotien cholesterol and smoking status at 1 and 2 years (P < 0.0001) were observed. Little or no improvements were shown for exercise, BMI or waist circumference. Increases in the prescribing of statins, angiotensin-converting enzyme inhibitors and β-blockers over the course of the study were observed.
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