Initial results from the largest ever national programme to target heart disease in the community have shown a significant improvement in blood pressure and cholesterol levels amongst participants.
Heartwatch, the national general practice programme for the secondary prevention of cardiovascular disease, which has enrolled 10,000 patients since it commenced in February 2003 published an initial evaluation of its activities at the Irish College of General Practitioners (ICGP) AGM in Galway yesterday.
The patients had all suffered a previous cardiac event such as a heart attack. Their recruitment to Heartwatch is designed to prevent further heart problems by intervening in risk factors such as high blood pressure, cholesterol and smoking.
The results show that even after three months in the programme, the percentage of patients with normal blood pressure rose by 8 points from 55 per cent to 63 per cent.
Those with normal cholesterol levels rose from 65 per cent to 75 per cent after nine months. Even risk factors which require a longer period of intervention before an improvement is seen, such as smoking and exercise, showed modest levels of improvement.
Seventy-six per cent of patient were using a cholesterol-lowering drug. Combined with the cholesterol results this suggests that while most are on appropriate medication, some patients may not be on a sufficient dose. The use of aspirin and antiplatelet medication, which is recommended under European guidelines, was good by comparison with other EU states.
In what is the largest health intervention project even undertaken in the Republic, Heartwatch recruited 20 per cent of GP's here into the programme. Some 470 GPs and their practice nurses in 325 practices from all 10 health boards in the State participated. GP co-ordinators and nurse facilitators were recruited in each health board.
The programme, which cost €3 million to run, is a partnership between the Department of Health, the Health Boards, the ICGP and the Irish Heart Foundation.
It was first proposed in the 1999 National Cardiovascular Strategy, Building Better Hearts, which stated that the secondary prevention of heart disease should be carried out, for the most part, in primary care.
The next phase of the project will involve the recruitment of a further 470 GPs as well as enlarging the programme to include the primary prevention of cardiovascular disease.
Dr Seán McGuire, the Heartwatch national programme director said: "the programme is proving to be an outstanding success. Even at this early stage it is showing benefits for a group of patients with established coronary heart disease and should ensure a reduction in morbidity and mortality in the longer term".
Heartwatch's national programme manager, Mr John Leahy, pointed to the information technology benefits of the project. "As the first programme dependant on primary care, it has meant a huge change within general practice", he said. It is expected the Heartwatch programme will be formally launched by the Minister for Health, Mr Martin, in the coming months.