<![CDATA[Background: Coronary heart disease (CHD) remains a major cause of morbidity and mortality, and sustained lifestyle modification is essential for secondary prevention. The Indonesian Ministry of Health promotes CERDIK, a six-component healthy-lifestyle strategy comprising regular health checks, avoidance of cigarette smoke, regular physical activity, a healthy balanced diet, adequate rest, and stress management. Evidence regarding structured CERDIK education among patients with established CHD in hospital outpatient settings remains limited. Objective: This study evaluated the effect of CERDIK-based health promotion on knowledge, attitudes, and healthy lifestyle practices among patients with CHD. Methods: A quasi-experimental two-group pretest-posttest study was conducted in the cardiac outpatient clinic of Murni Teguh Hospital, Medan. Forty patients were recruited by purposive sampling and allocated to an intervention group (n=20) and a control group (n=20). The intervention group received structured CERDIK-based health education for four weeks, whereas the control group received routine education. Outcomes were measured before and after the intervention using questionnaires assessing knowledge, attitudes, and practices. Change scores were compared between groups using the Mann-Whitney U test. Results: After the intervention, 85% of participants in the intervention group had good knowledge, 85% had positive attitudes, and 45% had good practices; the corresponding proportions in the control group were 0%, 0%, and 10%, respectively. Mean change scores were substantially greater in the intervention group than in the control group for knowledge (25.75 vs 2.95), attitudes (27.30 vs 1.85), and practices (23.35 vs 1.85). Between-group differences were statistically significant for all outcomes (all p<0.001). Conclusion: Structured CERDIK-based health promotion significantly improved short-term knowledge, attitudes, and healthy lifestyle practices among patients with CHD. The intervention may be incorporated into outpatient secondary-prevention education, although larger randomized studies with longer follow-up are needed to assess sustained behavioral effects.]]>
