How the health care system can influence cardiovascular disease risk factors.

Only a small fraction of the health-care dollar is directed toward lifestyle changes that would reduce the social burden from cardiovascular diseases (CVD). Here we discuss the challenge, opportunity, methods, and potential for managed care to implement risk reduction strategies and preventive care. A systematic team approach involving nurses, nutritionists, exercise physiologists, and behavioral experts has been shown to be effective, along with physicians, in reducing CVD risk. This approach is increasingly accepted by and practiced in the CVD community and the managed care industry.