Treating claudication in 5 words (stop smoking and keep walking) is no longer enough: an audit of risk factor management in patients prescribed exercise therapy in New Zealand.

Aim: To assess the documentation and modification of vascular risk factors in patients with intermittent claudication enrolled in an exercise programme in Christchurch, New Zealand.

Patients/method: A retrospective review of case notes of patients who presented to the vascular outpatient department with intermittent claudication and were given "Green Prescriptions" for an exercise programme was performed. Referral letters, clinic letters, vascular nurse notes, and handwritten hospital notes were searched for evidence of documentation of risk factors for atherosclerosis.