National study of physician awareness and adherence to cardiovascular disease prevention guidelines.

Background: Few data have evaluated physician adherence to cardiovascular disease (CVD) prevention guidelines according to physician specialty or patient characteristics, particularly gender.

Methods And Results: An online study of 500 randomly selected physicians (300 primary care physicians, 100 obstetricians/gynecologists, and 100 cardiologists) used a standardized questionnaire to assess awareness of, adoption of, and barriers to national CVD prevention guidelines by specialty. An experimental case study design tested physician accuracy and determinants of CVD risk level assignment and application of guidelines among high-, intermediate-, or low-risk patients.

Psychosocial factors predict coronary heart disease, but what predicts psychosocial risk in women.

Objectives: Psychosocial factors, including depression, anger, and social isolation, have been associated with increased morbidity and mortality from coronary heart disease (CHD), but predictors of psychosocial burden among women with CHD are poorly defined. The purpose of this study was to determine whether readily measured demographic and risk factors could identify women with psychosocial risk factors that are more difficult to assess in a clinical setting.

Methods: Baseline data on 304 women (mean age 62 years, 52% minority) hospitalized with CHD at 3 academic medical centers participating in a clinical study of adherence to prevention guidelines were evaluated.