A two-dimensional intervention plan to reduce risk factors for ischaemic heart disease

Although most cardiologists and public health officials are convinced of the great value of reducing risk factors for cardiovascular diseases, efforts to reduce these factors have seldom reached effectively beyond those persons in direct touch with physicians. This paper describes nine channels which health officials can utilise to inform, motivate, and change health behaviours in the general public. The channels are: individuals, family and friends, health professionals and institutions, schools and teachers, business and labour, mass media, local organizations, community leaders, regional and national government. Using all these channels in an integrated programme to reduce multiple risk factors in the community results in a two-dimensional intervention plan in which the various components reinforce one another. Specific programmatic suggestions are made for each of the following cardiovascular risk factors: cigarette smoking, high blood pressure, lack of exercise, high serum cholesterol, and stress.