Results and cost of meeting the National Service Framework for Coronary Heart Disease requirement for 12 month follow-up after acute coronary events

BACKGROUND: The National Service Framework (NSF) for Coronary Heart Disease (CHD) set standards, targets and milestones. In the case of acute myocardial infarction (AMI) or coronary revascularization, Milestone 3 of Standard 12 requires a 12 month audit of exercise and smoking habit and of body mass index (BMI) for patients who have attended cardiac rehabilitation (CR). The targets are that 50 per cent of patients should be exercising regularly, not smoking and have a BMI of <30 kg/m(2). The purpose of this study was to find out whether the targets are realistic and to measure the cost of retrieving the data. METHODS: A postal questionnaire was used to follow up all the patients who attended our CR programme over a 12 month period. The project was costed. RESULTS: Four hundred and three CHD patients who had attended the programme between April 2001 and March 2002 were sent questionnaires 12 months after their index event. Their diagnoses were AMI in 147 (36.5 per cent), coronary artery surgery in 157 (39 per cent) and angioplasty in 99 (24.5 per cent). Completed questionnaires were received from 358 (89 per cent). Of the responders, 69 per cent were exercising regularly, 91.6 per cent were not smoking (73 per cent had been non-smokers before their index cardiac event) and 79 per cent had a BMI of <30 kg/m(2)(the figure at the start of rehabilitation had been 79 per cent). The cost of performing the audit was pounds sterling 1204. CONCLUSION: This audit is inexpensive. The targets for smoking and BMI set by the NSF were achieved by a very large margin before either the index cardiac event or starting CR.