The American Heart Association recently announced the biggest threat to heart patients—and it's not cheese fries or stress. It is "patients' failure to take prescription medicines correctly."
Statistics suggest that if a doctor prescribes a drug to 100 patients, 12% of them won't fill the prescription, another 12% will fill it but not take a single pill, and 22% will stop taking the drug before the prescription runs out.
Skipped meds, needless heart attacks
When it comes to medications for the heart, skipping doses can be costly. It's estimated that thousands of Americans have avoidable heart attacks each year because they neglect to consistently take the cholesterol-lowering statins prescribed by their doctors. A 2007 study of heart patients suggested that skimping on prescribed medications can double the risk of heart attack, stroke, or other cardiovascular events.
Statistics suggest that if a doctor prescribes a drug to 100 patients, 12% of them won't fill the prescription, another 12% will fill it but not take a single pill, and 22% will stop taking the drug before the prescription runs out.
Skipped meds, needless heart attacks
When it comes to medications for the heart, skipping doses can be costly. It's estimated that thousands of Americans have avoidable heart attacks each year because they neglect to consistently take the cholesterol-lowering statins prescribed by their doctors. A 2007 study of heart patients suggested that skimping on prescribed medications can double the risk of heart attack, stroke, or other cardiovascular events.
Why heart patients skip doses
People have many reasons for skipping doses: forgetfulness, wariness of side effects, and the high cost of some medications, to name a few.
People who are depressed - and that includes up to 20% of heart disease patients—may take a "so what" attitude that makes it hard to stick to a treatment plan.
Heart medications can be especially easy to ignore or forget because most do their work silently. Since you can't feel your cholesterol dropping, you may not notice any obvious benefits of your medication.
Here are some strategies for remembering to take your drugs.
- Make your medicine schedule as simple as possible. Plan times to take your medicines when you are doing other things, like eating or getting ready for bed.
- Talk with your doctor if you are having problems with your medicine schedule. Your doctor may be able to change your medicines or the times you are taking them.
- Talk with your doctor if you have any changes in your health that might affect your heart condition, such as side effects of medicines or a medical condition.
- Use any tools, like daily or weekly pill containers, that make taking your medicines simpler.
For more information on managing heart disease, high blood pressure, or general health issues, please contact Dr. Gregory Cohen, Medical Director at Westside Preventive Medicine.
Dr. Cohen is a board certified Internist and Cardiologist in Los Angeles.
Our patients come not only from Los Angeles, but frequently from Santa Monica, Malibu, Brentwood, Hollywood, the Valley and even as far as Glendale and Pasadena. They all come for our compassionate, "whole-person" approach to medicine.
To book an appointment, call us at 310-231-9500, or go online to our website at www.westsidepreventivemedicine.com
