Effectiveness of an Intervention Aimed at Improving Information for Patients with High Cardiovascular Risk: INFORISK Clinical Trial

Background: The concept of global cardiovascular risk is not usually well understood by patients in consultation. Methods: This was a multicenter, prospective, randomized, open clinical trial of one-year duration to evaluate the effectiveness in reducing global cardiovascular risk with an intervention aimed at high-risk patients to improve information on the cardiovascular risk compared to the usual care. The intervention was focused on providing information about cardiovascular risk in a more understandable way, explaining the best practices to reduce cardiovascular risk, and tailoring information to the individual. Results: Four-hundred and sixty-four subjects participated in the study; 59.3% were men, and the mean age was 61.0 (SD 8.0) years. Significant reductions in systolic blood pressure (SBP) (−3.12 mmHg), body mass index (BMI) (−0.34 kg/m(2)), abdominal circumference (−1.24 cm), and REGICOR cardiovascular risk (−0.63) were observed in the intervention group. Overall, no differences in cardiovascular risk score were observed between groups at the end of follow-up. Conclusions: Providing an easy-to-understand assessment of the cardiovascular risk motivated high-risk patients to adopt a healthier lifestyle and improved cardiovascular risk after one year in the intervention group. Clinicians should assess a patient’s baseline understanding of their CV risk using tools other than absolute risk before making treatment recommendations.