Objective: To describe patients' evaluation of the contents of preventive cardiovascular consultations and to analyse whether their evaluation is shaped by self-reported cognitive and emotional effects and lifestyle changes two to six weeks after the consultations.
Design: Questionnaire developed by means of qualitative studies.
Setting: Two counties in Denmark.
Subjects: A total of 2450 subjects who had participated in a preventive cardiovascular consultation with their GP received a questionnaire; 1714 responded (70%); 1226 fulfilled the inclusion criteria, namely to be at increased risk of cardiovascular disease (CVD) but without having CVD.
Main outcome measures: Cognitive and emotional effects and lifestyle changes. Odds ratios (ORs) were calculated between self-reported issues raised during the consultations and self-reported lifestyle changes, cognitive and emotional effects.
Results: Some 58-79% reported cognitive effects (knowledge about risk and disease), 22-57% lifestyle changes (diet, exercise, and smoking), 80-97% emotional effects related to relief and satisfaction, and 23% worries. Those who reported that a dialogue had taken place (e.g. information concerning risk of disease, life habits, life circumstances/daily living, perception of risk, knowledge about disease, and own possibilities for prevention) had ORs between 1.7 and 4.3 for reporting three or more cognitive effects and one or more lifestyle changes (p < 0.05). These issues were also significantly related to emotional effects such as feeling relieved and satisfied.
Conclusion: Patients report cognitive and emotional effects and healthy lifestyle changes following a cardiovascular preventive consultation and the magnitude of the effect is associated with the nature of the issues raised.