Limitations
CVD, CHRONIC DISEASES
Our study has several limitations. First, the short observation period caused by funding issues. Long-term clinical outcome and hospitalization rates is key for the assessment of intervention efficacy in chronic diseases. The non-significant difference in inpatient days may have been related to the relatively short follow-up period of 12 months. The planned extended long-term follow-up will provide valuable information. Second, the trial was a single-center experience. For this reason, the data cannot be extrapolated to other (non-tertiary) centers or settings. However, most patients were recruited from the outpatient clinics by physicians involved in cardiovascular care, and thus the study does represent the typical outpatient CVD population.