NCC demonstrated to have an effect on a small number of outcomes .
NCC that incorporated blood pressure monitoring , cholesterol control and smoking cessation has an impact on the improvement of secondary prevention .
Current guidelines on secondary prevention of cardiovascular disease recommend nurse-coordinated care ( NCC ) as an effective intervention .
However , NCC programmes differ widely and the efficacy of NCC components has not been studied .
Influence of coronary nursing management follow up on lifestyle after acute myocardial infarction.
OBJECTIVE : To examine the ability of a secondary prevention programme to improve the lifestyle in myocardial infa rct ion patients aged 50 - 70 years . DESIGN : Habitual physical activity , food habits , and smoking habits were assessed from question naires at admission to hospital and at the one year follow up . Initially , all patients were invited to join an exercise programme and were informed about cardiovascular risk factors . Four weeks after discharge from the hospital , 87 patients were r and omised to follow up at the coronary prevention unit by a special trained nurse ( the intervention group )  , and 81 to follow up by their general practitioners (  the  usual care group ) . After r and omisation , the intervention group was educated about the effects of smoking cessation , dietary management , and regular physical activity . The intervention group also participated in a physical training programme two to three times weekly for 10 - 12 weeks . MAIN RESULTS : 89 % of the patients referred to the intervention group improved their food habits compared with 62 % of the patients referred to the usual care group ( P = 0.008 ) . Furthermore , 50 % of the smokers referred to the intervention group stopped smoking compared to 29 % in the usual care group ( P = 0.09 ) . Changes in physical activity did not differ between the groups . CONCLUSIONS : This secondary prevention programme based on a nurse rehabilitator was successful in improving food habits in patients with acute myocardial infa rct ion . Initiating the smoking cessation programme during the hospital stay followed by repeated counselling during follow up might have improved the results . The exercise programme had no advantage in supporting physical activity compared to usual care
NCC demonstrated to have an effect on a small number of outcomes .
NCC that incorporated blood pressure monitoring , cholesterol control and smoking cessation has an impact on the improvement of secondary prevention .
Current guidelines on secondary prevention of cardiovascular disease recommend nurse-coordinated care ( NCC ) as an effective intervention .
However , NCC programmes differ widely and the efficacy of NCC components has not been studied .