Stroke is highly preventable but the community awareness of risk factors and their management is poor. This study was a pilot randomised clinical trial (RCT) to test whether use of the Stroke Riskometer mobile application was feasible, whether it improved participant awareness about stroke risk factors and encouraged any changes in health behaviour.

This was an open-label, 2-arm prospective pilot RCT. Participants (n=50) with at least 2 modifiable risk factors were randomized to the RiskometerTM Pro (App) or Usual care (UC) groups. Assessments were conducted at baseline, 3 and 6 months. The primary outcome was a 1-point increase (healthier lifestyle) in the Life’s Simple 7 (LS7) score of cardiovascular risk. Awareness of risk factors was also measured in addition to health metrics. Paired t-tests were conducted to detect differences between baseline and six-month measures and ANOVA to identify any differences by treatment arm. 

There was a non-significant trend towards positive behavior changes in the App group with an increase of 0.36 points in the LS7 from baseline to 6 months compared to a 0.01 increase in UC, (p= 0.82). There was an absolute 6% increase in the proportion of people correctly identifying two or more risk factors of stroke in the App group, compared to a decrease of 3% in the UC. 

The results suggest that a full RCT is feasible in terms of recruitment and completion of assessments. Positive trends in behavior change suggest the intervention may be effective in an appropriately powered trial and further investigation is warranted.

Using a Mobile App to improve stroke awareness and reduce the risk of Stroke - the pilot randomised control MARS trial.