TOPLINE:

Patients with hypertension, particularly those with more poorly controlled hypertension, who received a tool — Your Heart Forecast (YHF) — communicating their 5-year risk for heart disease, along with monthly educational emails, showed a decrease in blood pressure (BP), and a substantial improvement in lipid levels was observed among those with the
highest baseline levels.

METHODOLOGY:

• Researchers conducted a cluster-randomised controlled trial to assess whether a structured intervention of communicating cardiovascular risk could improve BP control and cholesterol profile in adults with hypertension.
• Across multiple Danish general practice clinics, they included 255 patients aged 35-75 years (57.3% men) with hypertension and no prior cardiovascular disease who participated in annual BP control consultations.
• Clinics were randomised such that 142 patients were assigned to the intervention group and 113 were assigned to the control group between 2019 and 2021.
• Patients in the intervention group received a cardiovascular risk communication tool YHF that visually showed their personal 5-year risk for cardiovascular disease and how changes in risk factors could affect it, along with monthly educational emails for 12 months; the control group received usual hypertension care with annual consultations.
• Primary outcomes were BP and the total cholesterol (TC)/high-density lipoprotein (HDL) ratio, measured at baseline consultation and follow-up after 10-18 months.

TAKEAWAY:

• Among patients with the highest baseline systolic BP (149-180 mm Hg), systolic BP reduced by 21.6 mm Hg in the intervention group and by 12.7 mm Hg in the control group (P < .0001 for both). Among those with baseline systolic BP of 137-148 mm Hg, a significant reduction occurred only in the intervention group (-5.8 mm Hg; P = .0133).
• For diastolic BP, significant reductions were noted in the intervention group with baseline values of 87-95 and 96-115 mm Hg (P < .0001 for both). Only those with baseline diastolic BP of 96-115 mm Hg in the control group had a significant reduction (P = .0001).
• The TC/HDL ratio decreased significantly only in the intervention group with the highest baseline ratio, with a mean reduction of 1.8; no significant reduction was observed in the control group.
• Systolic BP increased over time among patients with lower baseline systolic BP in both groups, but the increase was greater with usual care than with the intervention.

IN PRACTICE:

"Our findings support the use of the intervention, communicatively, even for patients with just slightly elevated blood pressure. It can be concluded that the patients receiving the intervention obtained a lower blood pressure and thus added health benefit in comparison to the control group," the researchers of the study wrote.

SOURCE:

This study was led by Kathrine Stjernholm, University of Southern Denmark, Odense, Denmark. It was published online on January 28, 2026, in Open Heart.

LIMITATIONS:

The study design lacked patient and public involvement. The sample overrepresented people with diabetes, limiting generalisability. Medication use was self-reported; detailed data on medication adherence were not collected.

DISCLOSURES:

The trial received funding from the University of Southern Denmark, The Region of Southern Denmark; the Lilly and Herbert Hansens Foundation; the Foundation of General Practice; and the A.P. Møller and Chastine McKinney Møller Foundation. The authors did not declare any conflicts of interest.

This article was created using several editorial tools, including AI, as part of the process. Human editors reviewed this content before publication.