for the Cardiovascular Health Evaluation to Improve Compliance and Knowledge Among Uninformed Patients (CHECK-UP) Study Group

Background: Despite increasing evidence that treat-ing dyslipidemia reduces cardiovascular events, many pa-tients do not achieve recommended lipid targets. Methods: To determine whether showing physicians and patients the patient’s calculated coronary risk can im-prove the effectiveness of treating dyslipidemia in a pri-mary care setting, patients were randomized to receive usual care or ongoing feedback regarding their calcu-lated coronary risk and the change in this risk after life-style changes, pharmacotherapy, or both to treat dyslip-idemia. Outcomes, based on intention-to-treat analysis, included changes in blood lipid levels, coronary risk, and the frequency of reaching lipid targets. Results: Two hundred thirty primary care physicians en-rolled 3053 patients. After 12 months of follow-up, 268