A case-management system for coronary risk factor modification after acute myocardial infarction

To evaluate the efficacy of a physician-directed, nurse-managed, home-based case-management system for coronary risk factor modification.

Randomized clinical trial in which patients received a special intervention (n = 293) or usual medical care (n = 292) during the first year after acute myocardial infarction.

5 Kaiser Permanente Medical Centers in the San Francisco Bay area.

585 men and women aged 70 years or younger who were hospitalized for acute myocardial infarction.

In the hospital, specially trained nurses initiated interventions for smoking cessation, exercise training, and diet-drug therapy for hyperlipidemia. Intervention after discharge was implemented primarily by telephone and mail contact with patients in their homes. All medically eligible patients received exercise training; all smokers received the smoking cessation intervention; and all patients received dietary counseling and, if needed, lipid-lowering drug therapy.

Smoking prevalence and plasma low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL) concentrations were measured 2 months after infarction, and functional capacity was measured 6 months after infarction.

In the special intervention and usual care groups, the cotinine-confirmed smoking cessation rates were 70% and 53% (P = 0.03), plasma LDL cholesterol levels were 2.77 +/- 0.69 mmol/L and 3.41 +/- 0.90 mmol/L (107 +/- 30 mg/dL and 132 +/- 30 mg/dL) (P = 0.001), and functional capacities were 9.3 +/- 2.4 METS and 8.4 +/- 2.5 METS (P = 0.001), respectively.

In a large health maintenance organization, a case-management system was considerably more effective than usual medical care for modification of coronary risk factors after myocardial infarction.