BACKGROUND: Achieving low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C) target levels after an acute coronary syndrome (ACS) is of paramount importance, and is often burdened by undertreatment and medication or lifestyle non-adherence issues.
OBJECTIVE: We examined the effect of a patient-centered, physician-led motivational intervention following ACS on relevant secondary prevention aspects.
METHODS-DESIGN: The IDEAL-LDL is a single-center, randomized controlled clinical trial, conducted among patients hospitalized due to an ACS. Following discharge, all patients undergo a baseline assessment of lipid profile. Patients in the intervention group receive an in-person educational session and an informative leaflet, and also undergo two phone-based, motivational interviewing sessions at 1 and 6 months. These interventions emphasize on LDL-C goals, adherence to lipid-lowering medication, and healthy dietary-lifestyle habits, and are not provided to patients in the control group, who receive usual care. At 12 months after each patient's discharge, an in-person interview and lipid profile reassessment are performed. The primary outcomes are the assessment of LDL-C goal achievement (<70 mg/dL or >50% reduction from baseline levels) from baseline to 1 year and changes in medication adherence. Secondary outcomes relate to the incidence of the composite outcome of cardiovascular death, nonfatal myocardial infarction/stroke, need for myocardial revascularization, and recurrent hospitalization during the follow-up period.
DISCUSSION: This paper describes the protocol, design, and rationale for key methodology for an ongoing clinical trial featuring a simple and feasible intervention. Similar adherence efficacy trials have not led to sufficient improvements, and there remains a gap regarding how adherence interventions should be implemented into clinical care.