MEET AUDREY :
Audrey is a 58 year old woman who joined the CardioPrevent® Program. She has a strong family history of cardiovascular disease. Audrey joined the program based on a referral from her family physician. Upon joining the program she attended the intake session where she met her personal health coach. During the intake session, information was collected to help the health coaches determine the best course of action for each individual participant.
Audrey’s Health Concerns Included:
- Diabetes
- Low physical activity levels
- Nutrition outside target guidelines
- Chronic pain
- Hectic schedule, fatigue
- Medication adherence
- Glucose monitoring
- Blood pressure monitor adherence
Baseline Results:
| MESURE | RESULT |
|---|---|
| Framingham Risk Score | 27.5 % |
| Total Cholesterol | 3.64 |
| Cholesterol Low Density Lipoprotein (LDL-C) | 1.86 |
| Cholesterol High Density Lipoprotein (HDL-C) | 1.23 |
| Triglycerides | 1.19 |
| Fasting Blood Glucose | 6.5 |
| A1c | 6.4 |
| Total minutes of physical activity per week | 0 |
Audrey was limited when it came to physical activity due to a pre-existing injury that caused her chronic pain. This left her fearful when exploring other forms of exercise. She struggled with a diabetic eating plan due to her “on-the-go” lifestyle. She often felt too busy to participate in any type of preparation or self-care related to lifestyle changes.
What Changed?
Audrey and her health coach were able to identify areas in which small changes could be made that were not overwhelming. The changes were things that were manageable with Audrey’s already busy schedule. This included pre-planning meals and having a set menu for dinner for the week, to help make healthier eating choices.
When talking about physical activity, one of the issues was not having time to attend a class or visit a gym. Together, Audrey and her health coach set goals to make smaller changes that included parking further away from the door, taking the stairs instead of the elevator, and stopping for a minute to get up and stretch when spending long periods of time at the computer.
Once Audrey began experimenting with these small changes and noticing a difference in her mood and overall health, she began to commit more time to healthy choices. Six months into the program, Audrey had significantly improved multiple results of her risk factor profile.
Results After Six Months:
| MESURE | RESULT |
|---|---|
| Framingham Risk Score | 12.6 % |
| Total Cholesterol | 3.56 |
| Cholesterol Low Density Lipoprotein (LDL-C) | 1.71 |
| Cholesterol High Density Lipoprotein (HDL-C) | 1.31 |
| Triglycerides | 1.19 |
| Fasting Blood Glucose | 5.6 |
| A1c | 5.7 |
| Total minutes of physical activity per week | 300 |
Audrey had successfully decreased her risk of developing cardiovascular disease by 54.8% in just six months!
Onwards and Upwards
At the six month mark, patients are encouraged to progress more independently. The contacts with health coaches are less frequent, and patients rely on the skills they learned to continue to progress.
While occasionally checking in with her health coach, Audrey was able to provide updates on her regular use of meal planning, packing snacks and reading food labels to make the best choices related to food. She was happy to find that she felt better when she made better meal and snack choices. She had turned some of her earlier challenges into strategies for success.
Audrey’s increased awareness of her blood glucose levels led to better food choices, increased exercise and greatly improved general health. The link between risk factors was apparent and she was able to watch them all improve drastically.
Finding an enjoyable exercise was a difficult task for Audrey. She did not consider herself athletic, and some activities caused her pain. She was much more successful when she began to challenge herself with physical activity, and realized that you can start with smaller steps. She was now up to 300 minutes per week. Scheduling a specific time of day to complete her exercise was helpful for her busy schedule. This allowed her to continue to complete her routine even when travelling on vacation.
Ultimately, Audrey understood that she did not need to become discouraged if she slipped up or did not receive the blood pressure or blood glucose reading she wanted. She kept moving forward.
Final Results:
| MESURE | RESULT |
|---|---|
| Framingham Risk Score | 12.6 % |
| Total Cholesterol | 3.49 |
| Cholesterol Low Density Lipoprotein (LDL-C) | 1.58 |
| Cholesterol High Density Lipoprotein (HDL-C) | 1.45 |
| Triglycerides | 1.00 |
| Fasting Blood Glucose | 5.8 |
| A1c | 5.6 |
| Total minutes of physical activity per week | 300 |
Where Are They Now?
Audrey graduated from the program over a year ago. She continues to exercise daily and make positive strides toward long-term heart health. She felt confident in her ability to make healthy choices and felt that it was now second nature to her.
She was able to recognize that her healthy lifestyle was more of a routine rather than a chore, and enjoyed it more than the hectic schedule she used to lead.