DESIGN NARRATIVE:

The investigators extended work they had done in modeling the health benefit of reducing risk factors for cardiovascular disease. Their new model incorporating risks of importance in the elderly, including cerebrovascular disease, estimated both morbidity and mortality averted by risk reduction, and estimated the costs and risks of the interventions used to modify risk factors.

The model was designed for the counseling of elderly individuals free of cardiovascular disease, and evaluated strategies for remaining disease free. It was implemented as software running on personal computers, and marketed to physicians and other health professionals who advised the elderly on medical issues. Accompanying documentation was also developed to explain the assumptions and non-quantifiable aspects of the decision to adopt major lifestyle changes to reduce risk.