Researchers from the Institute for Clinical Evaluative Sciences (ICES) and Women's College Hospital (WCH) find that cardiac patients who are prescribed medication for a longer period of time while being discharged tend to stay longer on the medication.
It is not uncommon for a cardiac patient to stop taking medication after a while. However, physicians have established that it is important that such patients stay on the medication for a longer period of time in order to prevent a future cardiac event. In a related study conducted by researchers from the Institute for Clinical Evaluative Sciences (ICES) and Women's College Hospital (WCH), it was discover that cardiac patients that were prescribed medication for more than 60 days while being discharged from a hospital after a cardiac event stay on medication longer than patients that were prescribed medication for 30 days or less.
"Studies show that adherence to cardiac medications after a cardiac event like a heart attack declines over time. But we know that taking these medications for the long-term is absolutely essential for preventing further cardiac events," said Dr. Noah Ivers, lead author of the study and family physician at Women's College Hospital, in a press release. "This study shows that longer prescriptions for cardiac patients after leaving hospital increase the likelihood that patients will take the medications for the long term, which may reduce their risk of heart attacks, stroke or even death."
For the study, researchers looked at the medication adherence of more than 20,000 elderly patients with coronary artery disease. Each of them was prescribed one of the three medications - ACE inhibitors, beta blockers and statins. The patients were divided into three groups. The first one received prescription for 60 or more days. The second group received a prescription for 30 to 60 days and the third received a prescription for less than 30 days. All patients' medication adherence was observed for a period of one and a half years.
They found that the first group had more medication adherence than the other two groups. Also medication adherence was higher among elder patients than younger ones and most males continued to stay on at least one medication. Researchers also noticed that about 50 percent prescriptions lasted only 7 days and that more than 80 percent patients scheduled a follow-up appointment with their doctors a month after being discharged irrespective of the prescription duration. This led researchers to conclude that prescriptions covering a longer interval of time were both more patient-centered and more effective.
Findings of the study were published online in the Canadian Journal of Cardiology.
