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An Analysis of the Management of Cardiovascular Risk Factors in Routine Clinical Practice in Italy

An Overview of the Main Findings of the EFFECTUS Study

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Abstract

Cardiovascular diseases represent the leading cause of morbidity and mortality, worldwide. Early detection and appropriate management of cardiovascular risk factors and disease markers in daily clinical practice may improve preventive strategies and reduce the burden of cardiovascular disease.

The EFFECTUS (Evaluation of Final Feasible Effect of Control Training and Ultra Sensitisation) programme was an educational programme aimed at evaluating prevalence of major cardiovascular risk factors among outpatients, and preferences and attitudes for cardiovascular disease management among Italian physicians in their routine clinical practice.

This article provides an overview of the main findings of different analyses from the EFFECTUS database, which have demonstrated a high prevalence of cardiovascular risk factors, irrespective of the clinical settings and outpatient clinics in which patients were followed. Also, findings from this database suggest that more intensive clinical data recording was paralleled by better adherence to guidelines, and that use of electronic rather than conventional support for clinical data collection and registration improved accuracy in data recording, which translated into better management of patients at risk in daily clinical practice.

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Acknowledgements

The authors wish to thank the 1078 Italian physicians for their contribution to this project (see appendix in Supplemental Digital Content 1, http://links.adisonline.com/HBZ/A1). This work has been supported by an unconditioned educational grant by Merck Sharp & Dohme, Italy, for data collection and analysis. The authors have been supported by a grant funding from Merck Sharp & Dohme, Italy.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Division of Cardiology, II Faculty of Medicine, University “La Sapienza”, Sant’ Andrea Hospital, Via di Grottarossa 1035-9, 00189, Rome, Italy

    Giuliano Tocci, Andrea Ferrucci &  Massimo Volpe (Chair)

  2. Cardiology Unit, Emergency and Organ Transplantation Department, University of Bari, Bari, Italy

    Pietro Guida

  3. Department of Clinical and Experimental Medicine, Chair of Metabolic Diseases, University of Padua, Padua, Italy

    Angelo Avogaro

  4. Department of Emergency, University of Genova, San Martino Hospital, Genova, Italy

    Marco Comaschi

  5. Department of Pharmacological Sciences, University of Milan, Milan, Italy

    Alberto Corsini

  6. Department of Internal Medicine, University of Rome “Tor Vergata”, Rome, Italy

    Claudio Cortese

  7. Metabolism and Diabetes Unit, ASL Turin 5, Chiari, Turin, Italy

    Carlo B. Giorda

  8. Department of Medical and Surgical Sciences, University of Padua, Padua, Italy

    Enzo Manzato

  9. Italian College of General Practice (SIMG), Florence, Italy

    Gerardo Medea & Giuseppe Ventriglia

  10. Department of Cardiovascular Disease, San Giovanni-Addolorata Hospital, Rome, Italy

    Gian F. Mureddu

  11. Division of Endocrinology and Metabolic Disease, University of Naples “Federico II”, Naples, Italy

    Gabriele Riccardi

  12. Italian Federation of General Medicine, Turin, Italy

    Giulio Titta

  13. Cardiology Unit, ASL Napoli 3 Sud, Pompei, Naples, Italy

    Giovanni B. Zito

  14. IRCCS Neuromed, Pozzilli, Isernia, Italy

    Massimo Volpe (Chair)

Authors
  1. Giuliano Tocci
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  2. Andrea Ferrucci
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  3. Pietro Guida
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  4. Angelo Avogaro
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  5. Marco Comaschi
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  6. Alberto Corsini
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  7. Claudio Cortese
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  8. Carlo B. Giorda
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  9. Enzo Manzato
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  10. Gerardo Medea
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  11. Gian F. Mureddu
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  12. Gabriele Riccardi
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  13. Giulio Titta
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  14. Giuseppe Ventriglia
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  15. Giovanni B. Zito
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  16. Massimo Volpe
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Massimo Volpe.

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Tocci, G., Ferrucci, A., Guida, P. et al. An Analysis of the Management of Cardiovascular Risk Factors in Routine Clinical Practice in Italy. High Blood Press Cardiovasc Prev 18, 19–30 (2011). https://doi.org/10.2165/11588040-000000000-00000

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.2165/11588040-000000000-00000

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