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UrduThe article’s lead author, Carl “Chip” Lavie, MD said, “While CVD is the leading cause of death in the U.S. across most races and ethnicities, doctors shouldn’t take a one-size-fits-all approach to lifestyle counseling.” Dr. Lavie is the Medical Director of Ochsner Health Cardiac Rehabilitation and Prevention; and he is ranked among the most cited researchers in the world according to the Google Scholar Citations database and recognized as the top World Expert in Obesity by Expertscape.
In “Improving Behavioral Counseling for Primary Cardiovascular Disease Prevention,” Dr. Lavie and co-authors Barry A. Franklin, PhD and Keith C. Ferdinand, MD, recognize that the likelihood of patients engaging in a particular lifestyle behavior is governed by myriad socioeconomic, attitudinal, and cultural factors. They further point to evidence that interventions designed to favorably modify the dietary habits or physical activity practices on one population cohort may be less effective in another.
They put forward a number of evidence-based methods for individualized counseling that clinicians can use to identify patients’ unhealthy lifestyle practices and encourage a behavioral transformation.
The authors call out disparities in health care delivery at many levels and note that Black adults have shortened life expectancy, driven predominately by the highest CVD mortality rate. Along with counseling, the authors contend that structural changes in health care and tailored community-based interventions are reasonable approaches to halt or reverse significant disparities in morbidity and mortality within certain population subsets.
Read the full journal article here.
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About Ochsner Health
Ochsner Health is an integrated healthcare system with a mission to Serve, Heal, Lead, Educate and Innovate. Celebrating 80 years in 2022, it leads nationally in cancer care, cardiology, neurosciences, liver and heart transplants and pediatrics, among other areas. Ochsner is consistently named both the top hospital and top children’s hospital in Louisiana by U.S. News & World Report. The not-for-profit organization is inspiring healthier lives and stronger communities. Its focus is on preventing diseases and providing patient-centered care that is accessible, affordable, convenient and effective. Ochsner Health pioneers new treatments, deploys emerging technologies and performs groundbreaking research, including over 700 clinical studies. It has more than 34,000 employees and over 4,500 employed and affiliated physicians in over 90 medical specialties and subspecialties. It operates 40 hospitals and more than 300 health and urgent care centers across Louisiana, Mississippi and the Gulf South; and its cutting-edge Connected Health digital medicine program is caring for patients beyond its walls. In 2021, Ochsner Health treated more than 1 million people from every state and 75 countries. As Louisiana’s top healthcare educator, Ochsner Health and its partners educate thousands of healthcare professionals annually. To learn more, visit https://www.ochsner.org/.
