No medication, no benefit
Given that the drugs are known to be helpful, “it should be no surprise that patients who actually don’t take their medications for various reasons don’t get as much of that benefit,” said Dr. Kim Eagle, who heads the Cardiovascular Center at the University of Michigan Health System and was not involved in the study.
The study shows seniors that didn’t continue taking medications were at a higher risk of health problems and were more likely to die.
The study also showed, overall, during the first year and a half following the heart attack, adherence to the drugs ranged from 37 percent to 50 percent.
Seniors opt not to take drugs
“Both physicians and non-physician care givers don’t understand the natural inertia for patients is to stop taking their drugs -whether it’s because of co-pays or side effects or ‘I just forgot’ or ‘I don’t feel bad, so why do I have to take these five pills,’” Eagle told Reuters.
While studies show the benefits of continuing a medication routine, it’s unclear how to convince seniors of the importance of continued heart health.
“There are very few known effective interventions for medication adherence,” said Dr. John Rumsfeld, the national director of cardiology for the U.S. Veterans Health Administration, who was not involved in the study.
Rumsfeld says seniors need to understand the medications are to improve future health and stabilize the problems that led to a heart attack in the first place.
“The vast majority of patients survive heart attacks – it’s about stabilization and initiation of key therapies – and I think what we need to now focus on is maintenance and sustainment of treatment over time,” he said.
Each year about two million people in the U.S. suffer a heart attack or stroke, according to the Centers For Disease Control and Prevention.
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