CDA 08-009
Preventing Recurrent Stroke in Veterans
Jennifer P Friedberg, PhD VA NY Harbor Healthcare System, New York, NY New York, NY Funding Period: February 2010 - January 2015 Portfolio Assignment: Career Development |
BACKGROUND/RATIONALE:
Patients who survive a first stroke or transient ischemic attack (TIA) remain at risk for future cerebrovascular events. Patients with recurrent stroke face a mortality rate of 1.8 times that of those with a first stroke, as well as a high risk of disability. Uncontrolled blood pressure (BP) and cholesterol significantly increase the risk of stroke recurrence, and there is strong evidence that secondary prevention strategies such as BP and cholesterol-lowering treatments can significantly reduce the prevalence of recurrent stroke. Despite the benefits of secondary stroke prevention, many patients do not reach BP and cholesterol targets, in part due to lack of adherence to treatment recommendations. Even in patients who successfully change their behavior to adhere to diet, medication, and exercise recommendations, long-term maintenance of health behavior changes can be difficult to sustain. OBJECTIVE(S): We will determine whether a telephone-delivered behaviorally tailored intervention (TI) with booster sessions can lead to sustained change resulting in (a) BP and lipid control and (b) improved adherence to diet, medication, and exercise recommendations in veterans with a history of stroke or TIA compared to an attention placebo (AP) in veterans who have completed 6 months of a clinical trial. In this CDA project, we evaluate the long-term effectiveness of booster sessions in a randomized manner. METHODS: One arm will receive 6 months of a telephone-delivered tailored intervention (TI) followed by two booster TI sessions at 8 and 10 months, based on the Transtheoretical Model and focusing on diet, medication, and exercise. The second arm will receive 6 months of an attention placebo (AP), which entails standard education about prevention of health conditions that are not related to cardiovascular disease or stroke (a different health topic will be discussed in each call), followed by two booster AP sessions at 8 and 10 months. BP (3 measures taken at least 5 min apart) and dietary sodium are the primary outcomes, while secondary outcomes will be total cholesterol/high density lipoprotein ratio, adherence to antihypertensive and lipid-lowering drugs, and exercise adherence. FINDINGS/RESULTS: Not yet available. IMPACT: This study provides insight into the sustainability of behavioral interventions to improve recurrent stroke risk. External Links for this ProjectDimensions for VADimensions for VA is a web-based tool available to VA staff that enables detailed searches of published research and research projects.Learn more about Dimensions for VA. VA staff not currently on the VA network can access Dimensions by registering for an account using their VA email address. Search Dimensions for this project PUBLICATIONS:Journal Articles
DRA:
Aging, Older Veterans' Health and Care, Brain and Spinal Cord Injuries and Disorders, Cardiovascular Disease
DRE: Diagnosis, Prevention, Prognosis, Treatment - Comparative Effectiveness Keywords: none MeSH Terms: none |