The impact of stroke nurse specialist input on risk factor modification: a randomised controlled trial.

SIR—Interventions with an educational or counselling component have been reported to be effective in a variety of patient groups to encourage smoking cessation [1], lower blood pressure (BP) [2, 3], achieve modest reductions in cholesterol [4], and promote weight loss [5]. Evaluation of the impact of education on physical outcomes is lacking in stroke disease, despite evidence that inadequate provision of information may adversely affect compliance with secondary prevention and psychosocial outcomes [6]. We describe a single-blind randomised controlled trial of health education and counselling for patients with stroke or transient ischaemic attack (TIA), and its effects on risk factors, satisfaction, mood and perceived health status.