Nursing consultation and control of cardiovascular risk factors in patients with acute coronary syndrome

Abstract

Background: Cardiovascular disease (CVD) is the leading cause of mortality in Portugal and is thus a priority area of intervention. Even after a coronary event, many patients maintain cardiovascular risk (CVR) behaviors. For this rea-son, the nursing intervention is essential to control CVR behaviors through the teaching of healthy lifestyles and adherence to the therapeutic regimen. Objectives: To analyze the influence of a structured teaching program on body mass index (BMI), waist circumfer-ence (WC), blood pressure (BP), capillary blood glucose (BCG), total cholesterol (TC), and the patient’s under-standing of their medical condition. Methodology: A quantitative, longitudinal, randomized, experimental study was conducted with a before-and-after design and a control group. Results: The CVD secondary prevention program re-duced the BMI, the WC, and improved the patient’s un-derstanding of their medical condition. Conclusion: The implementation of a structured teaching program for patients with acute coronary syndrome (ACS) is a good methodology to improve the control of CVR factors.