Nurse‐led counseling and systematic follow‐up has been shown to reduce cardiovascular risk factor levels. The study aim was to investigate if cardiovascular risk factor levels could be reduced in patients with coronary artery disease with a nurse‐led intervention and to report patients’ evaluations of nurse‐led counseling. The study design was a real‐life longitudinal follow‐up counseling intervention. Data were collected from November 2017 to May 2020. The nurse‐led intervention and patients’ follow‐up time was one year. Of the 78 patients recruited, 74 completed the study. The most significant findings were in the levels of total cholesterol, low‐density lipoprotein cholesterol and triglycerides at every follow‐up visit compared to their baseline levels, and that waist circumference decreased during the one‐year follow‐up. Patients assessed the quality of nurse‐led counseling to be very good, though it decreased slightly during follow‐up. The results suggest the integrated care path together with specialized and primary care for coronary artery disease patients need further development. More research is needed on how to strengthen patients’ self‐management and what kind of counseling would best promote it.