ORAL ABSTRACT SESSION: Risk factor intervention. From population to patient: Thursday, 1 May 2008, 13:30–14:30 Location: Bordeaux

Abstract

A sustainable community action for cardiovascular prevention: the CUORE Project experience S Giampaoli; R Rielli; C Donfrancesco; P De Sanctis Caiola; L Dematte’; G Laurendi; M De Rosa; A Addis; L Palmieri Istituto Superiore di Sanita’, Rome, Italy; CINECA Consorzio Interuniversitario, Bologna, Italy; Ministero della Salute, Rome, Italy; Agenzia Italiana del Farmaco, Rome, Italy Purpose: Assessment of global absolute cardiovascular risk (GACR) using the Italian risk score of the CUORE Project was recently introduced in Italy and a plan for primary prevention of cardiovascular disease was implemented involving general practitioners (GPs). GACR function is based on gender, age, diabetes, smoking habit, systolic blood pressure, total and HDL-cholesterol and anti-hypertensive medication; it considers fatal and non fatal first coronary and cerebrovascular events as end-points. The preventive plan aims to reduce/maintain the Italian population at favourable risk profile. Methods: The implementation of the preventive plan includes: 1. website from which GPs may download the cuore.exe software to assess 10year GACR in men and women ages 35-69 years free of cardiovascular diseases; 2. national training course on the assessment of GACR, risk communication, healthy lifestyle counselling, medication treatment; 3. self-training module to collect data using the cuore.exe software; 4. accessible web-site tool--the Observatory of GACR--to pool data collected by GPs, support GPs with quality control, disseminate results in order to monitor GACR by genders, age and geographical area and evaluate its efficacy in primary care. Results: Presently, 2,858 health professionals have downloaded the cuore. exe software, 3,500 GPs attended the training course (1,800 residential; 1,700 e-learning) and used the self-training module. Data were collected and sent to the Observatory of GACR by 219 GPs. GACR was calculated for 13,709 persons: 701 men and 34 women were found at high risk (=20%); 4,089 men and 2,773 women at adverse risk to be kept under control by lifestyle; 1,960 men and 4,152 women at low risk (<3%). Conclusion: The preventive plan launched within the CUORE Project is expected to be feasible thanks to the support by the Ministry of Health, National Institute of Health and Italian Drug Agency and the involvement of GPs, cardiologists and other health professionals. The Observatory of the GACR is expected to become an important tool for encouraging GPs to shift interest from care to prevention, improving the quality of data collected in clinical practice, monitoring cardiovascular risk and risk factors, planning further preventive actions, and supporting policy makers at national and regional level.