Heartbeat: health literacy for improving cardiac outcomes

The potential impact of patient education on improving outcomes in patients with cardiovascular disease (CVD) has received little attention. In a randomised clinical trial, McIntyre and colleagues1 found that waiting room video-based education about CVD risk reduction resulted in more patients being motivated to implement heart healthy behaviours (29.6% vs 18.7%, relative risk 1.63, 95% CI 1.04 to 2.55) and higher levels of satisfaction with the clinic visit. Participants who were also randomised to receive education about cardio-pulmonary resuscitation (CPR) reported greater confidence in performing CPR. Overall, at baseline 16% of patients reported optimal CVD risk factors which increased to 25% at 30 days but there was no difference in improvement between the intervention group and usual care (figure 1). Figure 1 Informational graphic summary of the While You’re Waiting study. In an editorial, White2 comments that ‘Health literacy is an underused resource for improving cardiac outcomes with patients being better able to understand their disease, understand modifications in …