However , there were no consistent relationships observed between intervention characteristics and the effects of interventions .
Most trials review ed demonstrated a beneficial impact of nursing interventions for secondary prevention in patients with CAD or heart failure .
OBJECTIVE This systematic review of recent r and omized trials was conducted to determine if cardiovascular nursing interventions improve outcomes in patients with coronary artery disease ( CAD ) and /or heart failure .
Effects of secondary prevention clinics on health status in patients with coronary heart disease: 4 year follow-up of a randomized trial in primary care.
BACKGROUND The long-term effects of disease management programmes for coronary heart disease on health status are unknown . In a r and omized trial of nurse-led secondary prevention clinics , we found significantly improved health status at 1 year . Participants were followed-up again at 4 years to determine if improvements had been sustained . OBJECTIVE Our aim was to evaluate the effects on health of  nurse-led clinics for the secondary prevention of coronary heart disease in primary care . METHODS A total of 1343 patients with coronary heart disease were r and omized to nurse-led secondary prevention clinics or usual care  , with follow-up at 1 and 4 years by review of medical case notes and national data sets , and postal question naires . The study involved a stratified , r and om sample of 19 general practice s in north-east Scotl and .  Health status was measured by the SF-36 question naire , chest pain by the angina TyPE specification and anxiety and depression by the hospital anxiety and depression scale . RESULTS At 1 year , there were significant improvements in five of eight SF-36 domains ( all functioning scales , pain and general health ) in patients r and omized to clinics . Role limitations attributed to physical problems improved the most [ adjusted difference 8.52 , 95 % confidence interval ( CI ) 4.16 - 12.9 ] . At 4 years , the intervention group scored higher than control in all domains , but differences were no longer significant . At 1 year , fewer patients in the intervention group reported worsening chest pain ( odds ratio 0.59 , 95 % C1 0.37 - 0.94 ) . At 4 years , there were no significant differences between the proportion of intervention or control group patients who reported chest pain in the last week or who reported worsening chest pain . No significant effects were observed on anxiety or depression at 1 or 4 years . CONCLUSION We have demonstrated previously a significantly greater survival in attendees at nurse-led secondary prevention clinics . Despite this , improvements in health status achieved in the first year of the study were reduced at 4 years . The case for nurse-led clinics remains strong , but further research is required on ways to optimize current health status
However , there were no consistent relationships observed between intervention characteristics and the effects of interventions .
Most trials review ed demonstrated a beneficial impact of nursing interventions for secondary prevention in patients with CAD or heart failure .
OBJECTIVE This systematic review of recent r and omized trials was conducted to determine if cardiovascular nursing interventions improve outcomes in patients with coronary artery disease ( CAD ) and /or heart failure .