Article

Smoking is major risk factor for cardiovascular disease; 40% of cardiovascular deaths are attributed to smoking.¹ For individuals who have been smokers and who experience a cardiac event, quitting reduces the risk of a recurrent event by 50%.¹

In July 1996, Kaiser Permanente-Colorado implemented the MULTIFIT cardiac rehabilitation and risk reduction program. The MULTIFIT program is a nurse case managed, home based model with risk reduction interventions for smoking cessation, diet management, exercise, and lipid management with drug treatment. It is the result of a research study which took place from 1988 to 1991 conducted by Stanford University and Northern California Kaiser Permanente.² Candidates of the program include individuals recently hospitalised for myocardial infarction, angioplasty, coronary bypass surgery, or angina. Nurses carry caseloads of 150-200 patients and follow patients for 12 months, primarily through telephone and mail encounters and limited visits. Use of a computer software program allows tracking of patient data. The cost . . . [Full text of this article]