Long-term impact of elevated cardiovascular risk detected by screening

Abstract

Doctors, who inform individuals about the impact of risk factors, need to know that the consequences and health advice are not always interpreted by laypeople as supposed by the medical culture.

“Couldn't you have done just as well without the screening?”

“…Despite this, our related interview-study showed that even those who regard themselves as susceptible to future disease due to elevated CRS can find it hard to maintain initiated lifestyle changes when other results of the screening are normal or interpreted as such, or when stressful circumstances occur in the participant's life [5]. This accords with Frick et al's findings that distancing is one way that patients cope with risk [18].…”

“…We conducted an interview study [4,5] with people who had been invited to a health screening [6,7], focusing on personal views and experiences of screening. We found that screened participants with elevated cardiovascular risk score (CRS) initiated significant lifestyle changes, though they did so only to a limited degree when such changes would affect their quality of life [5].…”

“…We conducted an interview study [4,5] with people who had been invited to a health screening [6,7], focusing on personal views and experiences of screening. We found that screened participants with elevated cardiovascular risk score (CRS) initiated significant lifestyle changes, though they did so only to a limited degree when such changes would affect their quality of life [5]. Not much is known of how individuals interpret and respond to repeated information that they are not at high risk of cardiovascular disease and that in other respects their health appears good, or of how participation in health screening affects the participants' understanding of and behaviour in relation to symptoms, health, and risk of illness.…”

How do patients at risk portray candidates for coronary heart disease? A qualitative interview study

“…Second, it may be a moral statement that signifies that one takes the risk seriously. If risk of CHD is on the patient's agenda the doctor's task is to assess the patient's risk and communicate about risk in ways that recognize the patient's pain limits and consider the patient's own notion of risk, health-related resources, and agency [19,20].…”

Exercise on prescription in general practice: A systematic review

“…However, there seems to be a limit to how much patients will change their lifestyle to reduce risk factors [2]. 'Exercise on Prescription' (EoP) interventions are used in general practice in several countries in an attempt to initiate a physically active lifestyle among sedentary patients with signs of lifestyle diseases.…”