Evaluation of a Specialist Nurse-Led Post-Coronary Heart Disease Support Program: A Prospective Pre-Post Interventional Study.

INTRODUCTION

The impact of multidisciplinary supervised cardiac rehabilitation programs on reducing the risk of having heart problems in the future is well documented. However, little is known about nurse-led post-coronary heart disease (post-CHD).

PURPOSE

Our aim was to evaluate the effectiveness of an educational and counseling-structured nurse-led post-CHD support program by assessing the prediction of psychological, behavioral and dietary variables in relation to adherence to a care plan in a single hospital in Athens (Greece).

METHOD

A prospective follow-up comparative approach in a single group of CHD patients was applied. The structured nurse-led program included eight topics (management of anxiety, physical activity, dietary habits, weight control, smoking cessation, alcohol moderation, family engagement and adherence to a care plan). Participants received tailored nursing interventions focused on psychological and behavioral needs and dietary habits by a CHD-specialized nurse based on patients' medical prescriptions and/or instructions. A modified clinical assessment questionnaire by the European Society of Cardiology was applied to identify pre-post clinical baseline measurements. A nurse-led post-coronary Heart Disease Support Program was evaluated by assessing the predictivity (effect) of specific interventions on adherence to a care plan by employing a logistic regression beta coefficient (Generalized Estimating Equations model).

RESULTS

The sample consisted of 275 patients (66.2% male), with a mean age of 68.5 ± 12.5 years old. CHD patients presented significantly lower anxiety rates (54.27 [1st m] vs. 49.63 [2nd m], < 0.05). In addition, significant differences were observed between the first and the second measurements of total cholesterol (163.27 [1rst m] vs. 134.44 [2nd m], < 0.001), BMI (obesity) (33.69 [1rst m] vs. 32.79 [2nd m], < 0.001), smoking (42.18 [1rst m] vs. 22.55 [2nd m], < 0.001) and adherence to a care plan (78.90 [1rst m] vs. 89.10 [2nd m], < 0.001). A Generalized Estimating Equations model revealed that participants with higher levels of anxiety showed significantly lower adherence to a care plan (beta -0.10, < 0.001) and those with family history of CHD (beta -0.71, = 0.04) in comparison to those with no CHD history. No significant differences were observed in the predictive variables of smoking (beta 0.08, = 0.69), alcohol consumption (beta 0.09, = 0.79) and family engagement (beta -0.11, = 069) with respect to adherence to a care plan, even after adjusting for age, sex and history of CHD.

CONCLUSION

Our findings indicate that the nurse-led post-CHD support program was found to be partially feasible and effective in our single-group study, emphasizing the need for effective training and retention strategies to enhance the specialization of nurses providing post-CHD care and support.