Healthy living
Medicines and supplements
Doctor knows best when it comes to heart disease medication
If you suffer from heart disease, take your meds. That’s the advice of US researchers who have found that heart disease sufferers who don’t follow doctor’s orders to take their medications are more than twice as likely to suffer a heart attack or other heart-related event
In the study, published in the Archives of Internal Medicine, 1,015 adults with established heart disease were asked a single question: 'In the past month, how often did you take your medications as the doctor prescribed?'. Of those surveyed, 83 (8.2%) admitted to not always following doctors orders. These people doubled their risk of having a subsequent cardiovascular event during the 3.9 years of follow up.
According to lead researcher, Dr Anil K. Gehi of Emory University School of Medicine, Atlanta, not taking prescribed medication is ‘as important as diabetes or smoking in contributing to worsened outcomes in the population studied’.
He also said that failure to take medication as prescribed is ‘remarkably common’ and a recognised cause of adverse outcomes in medical conditions, particularly cardiovascular diseases.
According to the Social Care Institute for Excellence (SCIE), 45 per cent of the medications prescribed in the UK are for people aged 65 and over, but as many as 50 per cent of older people on prescribed medication may not be taking their medicines as instructed. People forget, or don't like the side effects. On many occasions, the symptoms may have lessened or disappeared altogether, giving a false impression that the medication is no longer needed.
The British Heart Foundation stresses that sticking to your medication is important for the drug to work effectively. If doses are missed, even unintentionally, the concentration of medication in the body is altered and its effectiveness is lessened. It can also be dangerous to stop taking tablets such as beta blockers without medical advice.
Regardless of your illness, you should take the entire course of prescribed medication even though your symptoms may appear to have gone. If you are concerned about your medication, visit your GP before you decide to stop popping the pills.
Ways to keep your heart healthy
- Take your medication as prescribed by the doctor
- Eat a balanced diet, with plenty of fruit and vegetables
- Reduce your salt intake
- Maintain a healthy weight
- Give up smoking
- Try to do at least 30 minutes exercise, five days a week
Useful articles
- What's your risk of heart disease?
- Women and heart disease
- Mediterranean diet lowers risk of heart disease
- Nuts cut heart disease risk
Useful website
Information on this site is for interest only and is not a substitute for professional medical advice. You should consult your own doctor about any specific health concerns.
