Evaluation of Cardiovascular Disease Risk Awareness and Certain Metabolic Variables of Liver Transplant Patients: Descriptive Study

Objective: The research was conducted to examine cardiovascular disease risk awareness and certain metabolic variables of liver transplant patients. Material and Methods: This descriptive-correlational study was conducted on 106 liver transplant patients. Patients' risk awareness was assessed using the Cardiovascular Disease Risk Awareness Assessment Questionnaire. Height, weight and blood pressure were measured, and laboratory data were recorded on the Metabolic Variables Form. It was assessed whether the cardiovascular disease risk awareness scores were influenced by sociodemographic characteristics and some metabolic variables. Results: The results showed that patients' awareness of cardiovascular disease risk was at a moderate level (49.22±6.94) and that patients did not receive discharge education on cardiovascular disease risk. It was also found that there was a statistically significant difference between the patients' knowledge scores and their age, educational status, economic status and occupational group, and that triglyceride level and total cholesterol level were associated with the total risk awareness score (p<0.05). Conclusion: The results of our study showed that the cardiovascular disease risk awareness of liver transplant patients is moderate and certain variables affect the level of awareness. This study showed that it is important to determine cardiovascular disease risk awareness in liver transplant patients who are in the high-risk group.