Abstract
To analyze the association between the characteristics of follow-up in health services and adherence to antihypertensive medication in patients with cardiovascular disease. Analytical study carried out with 270 patients suffering from hypertension and hospitalized due to cardiovascular complications. Data collection occurred between November 2015 and April 2016, involving sociodemographic variables, presence of self-reported diabetes, accessibility and use of health services, blood pressure levels and medication adherence (analyzed through the Morisky-Green Test). The rate of adherence to antihypertensive therapy was 63.0%. Enrollment in the Hiperdia program had no statistical significance to medication adherence. People who attended at least between 4 and 6 nursing consultations throughout the data collection period (p = 0.02) had better adherence. The study's findings provide support for the reorientation of health services and their public policies towards improving adherence to antihypertensive therapeutics.
Highlights
Hypertension (HT) is a chronic disease with an important influence on the occurrence of complications such as heart failure, coronary disease and cerebrovascular accident[1] when blood pressure levels are not kept under control[2]
The adherence identified in the population studied here was higher (63%), possibly influenced by the characteristics of the participants, who had cardiovascular disease associated with arterial hypertension and, needed and sought health care more frequently
This has an impact on antihypertensive therapy adherence, since, as evidenced by our findings, there is a statistically significant relationship between greater attendance to consultations and better adherence to medication. This finding is proven by other studies, which demonstrate a greater therapeutic adherence of hypertensive patients after they go through disease complications[22,23]
Summary
Hypertension (HT) is a chronic disease with an important influence on the occurrence of complications such as heart failure, coronary disease and cerebrovascular accident[1] when blood pressure levels are not kept under control[2]. In contrast to advances in HT diagnosis and treatment strategies, it is estimated that 60% of patients with hypertension have above-target arterial pressure values, which puts them at risk of cardiovascular complications and lesions to target organs[6]. The level of adherence to antihypertensive treatment is between 50 and 60% in the general population, with percentages of less than 50% in the elderly[7,9,10]. Studies analyzing adherence factors have been more frequently focused on disease-related and treatment-related characteristics. This indicates researchers’ and health professionals’ difficulties in seeking answers to adherence problems outside these elements, by discussing factors such as the accessibility and use of health services
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