But risk factors in bypass patients are often inadequately managed. It's difficult for people to change their behavior, but if they do not, blood vessels may close and further treatment may be necessary. The Hopkins study looked at risk-factor profiles of 136 women six months after bypass surgery at The Johns Hopkins Hospital. A follow-up study of 93 women indicated that a health program coordinated by nurses helped decrease some cardiac risk factors of women who had bypass surgery. The women who participated in an educational program managed by nurses were three times more likely to decrease their intake of fat-based calories than women who did not participate in the program.
Women are more likely to die of heart disease than breast cancer.
Allen also suggests that all health-care professionals educate bypass patients about the need to reduce risk factors. The study was sponsored by the National Institute of Nursing Research at the National Institutes of Health.