Efficacy of lifestyle change psychological intervention in coronary risk reduction
Rita Pugliese1, Maria Tereza Zanella, Sérgio Luís Blay
1Clínica de Hipertensão e Diabetes, Hospital do Rim e Hipertensão, UNIFESP, São Paulo, SP, Brasil. rita@menorrisco.com.br
Objective:
To evaluate the efficacy of a program of lifestyle change through psychological intervention, combined with pharmacological therapy, for coronary risk reduction in uncontrolled hypertensive patients with overweight and dyslipidemia over 11 months of follow-up.
Methods:
A randomized controlled trial with 74 patients assigned to three different treatment programs. One group (CT) only received conventional pharmacological treatment. Another group (OG) received pharmacological treatment and participated in a guidance program to control cardiovascular risk factors. A third group (LSPI) received pharmacological treatment and participated in a brief psychological intervention program for reduction of estresse levels and changing of eating behavior. The main measure was the Framingham risk index.
Results:
CT patients presented an average reduction of 18% (p = 0.001) in coronary risk; OG patients elevated the risk by 0.8% (NS) and the LSPI group showed an average reduction of 27% on the Framingham risk index (p = 0.001).
Conclusion:
Pharmacological treatment combined with psychological intervention for reduction of estresse level and changing of eating behavior resulted in additional benefits in coronary risk reduction.
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