title: The Role of Text Messaging in Cardiovascular Risk Factor Optimization.
abstract: Many cases of CVD may be avoidable through lowering behavioural risk factors such as smoking and physical inactivity. Mobile health (mHealth) provides a novel opportunity to deliver cardiovascular prevention programs in a format that is potentially scalable. Here, we provide an overview of text messaging-based mHealth interventions in cardiovascular prevention.
  
  
  
  Text messaging-based interventions appear effective on a range of behavioural risk factors and can effect change on multiple risk factors-e.g. smoking, weight, blood pressure-simultaneously. For many texting studies, there are challenges in interpretation as many texting interventions are part of larger complex interventions making it difficult to determine the benefits of the separate components. Whilst there is evidence for text messaging improving cardiovascular risk factor levels in the short-term, future studies are needed to examine the durability of these effects and whether they can be translated to improvements in clinical care and outcomes.
authors.affiliation: University of Sydney, Sydney, NSW, Australia. klimis.harry@gmail.com.|Department of Cardiology, Westmead Hospital, PO Box 533, Wentworthville, NSW, Australia, 2145. klimis.harry@gmail.com.|The George Institute for Global Health, Sydney, NSW, Australia. klimis.harry@gmail.com.
authors.forename: Harry
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Klimis
authors.affiliation: University of Sydney, Sydney, NSW, Australia.|Department of Cardiology, Westmead Hospital, PO Box 533, Wentworthville, NSW, Australia, 2145.
authors.forename: Mohammad Ehsan
authors.initials: ME
authors.lastname: Khan
authors.affiliation: The George Institute for Global Health, Sydney, NSW, Australia.
authors.forename: Cindy
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Kok
authors.affiliation: University of Sydney, Sydney, NSW, Australia.|Department of Cardiology, Westmead Hospital, PO Box 533, Wentworthville, NSW, Australia, 2145.|The George Institute for Global Health, Sydney, NSW, Australia.
authors.forename: Clara K
authors.initials: CK
authors.lastname: Chow
mesh_terms: D002318:Cardiovascular Diseases / Q000517:prevention & control* / Q000628:therapy*; D006293:Health Promotion / Q000379:methods*; D006801:Humans; D055118:Medication Adherence; D016032:Randomized Controlled Trials as Topic; D012307:Risk Factors; D017216:Telemedicine; D060145:Text Messaging
keywords: Cardiovascular disease; Mobile health; Risk factors; SMS; Text message; mHealth