Assessment and Utilization of Patient-Reported Outcomes Measures to Improve Cardiovascular Disease Prevention

BackgroundThe American Heart Associations Lifes Simple 7 (LS7) consist of clinical factors and health-related behaviors associated with cardiovascular health. The prevalence of these health factors among patients seeking specialized cardiovascular care is unknown. We sought to quantify patient-reported cardiovascular risk among those seeking specialized cardiovascular care and implement tailored quality improvement interventions. Methods and ResultsPatients cared for by cardiovascular specialists at an academic medical center were surveyed with a modified LS7. We compared the prevalence of optimal health factors by atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease (ASCVD) status. Recent smokers or patients with ASCVD reporting non-adherence to antiplatelets/statins were contacted. Surveys for 5,950 patients were collected during 2014 to 2016. The mean (SD) age was 64 (15) years, 2613 (44%) were women, and 3478 (58%) had ASCVD. Only 34 (0.6 %) achieved ideal status for all 7 factors, which did not differ by ASCVD status (P=0.48). Of 404 (6.8%) reporting recent smoking, 94/404 (23.3%) were successfully contacted, and 71/404 (17.6%) accepted support. Among those with ASCVD, 84 (2.4%) reported not taking a statin or antiplatelet without contraindications. ConclusionsThe prevalence of optimal health factors, including health-related behaviors, among patients cared for by cardiovascular specialists remains low. Assessment of patient-reported outcomes facilitates scalable interventions to improve cardiovascular disease prevention.