Medications For Prevention Of Cardiovascular Disease Research Articles

Measuring Costs of Cardiovascular Disease Prevention for Patients with Familial Hypercholesterolemia in Administrative Claims Data.

Familial hypercholesterolemia is a common genetic condition that significantly increases an individual's risk of cardiovascular events such as heart attack, stroke, and cardiac death and is a candidate for population-wide screening programs. Economic analyses of strategies to identify and treat familial hypercholesterolemia are limited by a lack of real-world cost estimates for screening services and medications for reducing cardiovascular risk in this population. We estimated the cost of lipid panel testing in patients with hyperlipidemia and the cost of statins, ezetimibe, and PCKS9 inhibitors in patients with familial hypercholesterolemia from a commercial claims database and report costs and charges per panel and prescription by days' supply. The mean cost for a 90-day supply for statins was $183.33, 2.3 times the mean cost for a 30-day supply at $79.35. PCSK9 inhibitors generated the highest mean costs among medications used by patients with familial hypercholesterolemia. Lipid testing and lipid-lowering medications for cardiovascular disease prevention generate substantial real-world costs which can be used to improve cost-effectiveness models of familial hypercholesterolemia screening and care management.

Cardiovascular disease and prevention among people living with HIV in South Florida.

Antiretroviral therapy (ART) has improved survival of patients living with HIV (PLWH); however, this has been accompanied by an increase in cardiovascular disease (CVD). Although preventative measures for CVD among the general population are well described, information is limited about CVD prevention among PLWH. The goal of this study was to characterize the prevalence of CVD in our population and to assess the use of primary and secondary prevention.We performed a retrospective review of PLWH receiving primary care at a large academic center in Miami, Florida. We characterized the prevalence of CVD, CVD risk, and the use of aspirin and statins for primary and secondary CVD prevention.A total of 985 charts were reviewed (45% women, 55% men). Average age was 52.2 years. Average CD4 count was 568 cells/microL. 92.9% were receiving ART, and 71% were virologically suppressed. The median 10-year ASCVD risk was 7.3%. The prevalence of CVD was 10.4% (N = 102). The odds of having CVD was lower in patients on ART (OR 0.47, 95% CI: 0.25–0.90, P = .02). The use of medications for primary and secondary prevention of CVD based on current guidelines was low: 15% and 37% for aspirin respectively, and 25% and 44% for statins.CVD risk and rates of CVD are high among PLWH and receiving ART could protect against CVD. However, the use of medications for primary and secondary prevention is low. Increased awareness of CVD risk-reduction strategies is needed among providers of PLWH to decrease the burden of CVD.

Mobile phone-based interventions for improving adherence to medication prescribed for the primary prevention of cardiovascular disease in adults.

Mobile phone-based interventions for improving adherence to medication prescribed for the primary prevention of cardiovascular disease in adults.

Diabetes mellitus and cardiovascular risk management in patients with rheumatoid arthritis in a large international audit

Abstract Background The cardiovascular disease (CVD) risk in patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA) is comparable to that of patients with diabetes mellitus (DM). Although several studies have indicated high prevalence's of DM in RA patients, little is known about how this affects their CVD risk. Objectives To examine indications for, and use of antihypertensive treatment (a-HT) and lipid-lowering therapy (LLT) in RA patients with DM (RA-DM) and RA patients without DM (RAwoDM). Further, to compare the prevalence of various types of CVD across RA-DM and RAwoDM. Methods The cohort was derived from the SUrvey of cardiovascular disease Risk Factor in patients with Rheumatoid Arthritis (SURF-RA), which was performed in 53 centres/17 countries in 5 world regions (West and East Europe; North and Latin America; and Asia) from 2014 - 2019. Indication for a-HT was defined as: 1) systolic/diastolic blood pressure (BP) ≥140/90 mm Hg, 2) self-reported hypertension, and/or 3) current use of a-HT. Indication for LLT was defined according to ESC guidelines. CVD risk estimates (by SCORE) were multiplied by 1.5 according to EULAR recommendations. Target treatment targets for BP and lipids were defined according to ESC guidelines applicable at the time data were recorded. Results Presence of comorbid DM was available in 10 602 (73.1%) of the 14 503 RA patients included in SURF-RA, of whom 75 and 1262 patients reported DM type 1 and type 2, respectively (total 1337 patients, 12.6%). Although less often current smokers, RA-DM patients were more often previous smokers, male sex and had higher body mass index compared to RAwoDM (p<0.0001 for all). a-HT (84.7% vs 62.3%) and LLT (100% vs 47.2%) were more frequently indicated in RA-DM than in RAwoDM patients (p<0.0001 for both). RA-DM were more likely than RAwoDM to receive a-HT on indication (60.4% vs 57.6%, p<0.0001), while the difference in LLT use on indication was not significantly different (45.7% vs 42.5%, p=0.06). Moreover, RA-DM compared to RAwoDM patients had more often reached treatment goals when on a-HT (60.7% vs 54.1%, p<0.0001) and LLT (62.8% vs 48.9%, p<0.0001). Finally, the risk of all recorded established CVD (coronary heart disease, stroke, peripheral artery disease and atrial fibrillation) was increased by a factor of 2 to 3 in RA-DM compared to RAwoDM (Figure). Conclusion The effect of RA and comorbid DM on CVD risk appears to be additive. While CVD preventive medications are more often indicated in RA-DM than in RAwoDM patients, they are also more likely to receive such therapy and to reach CVD preventive treatment goals. The latter finding may be due to more developed CVD preventive care in DM compared to RA patients. Improved CVD preventive systems for patients with RA are warranted. CVD in RA patients with and without DM Funding Acknowledgement Type of funding source: Other. Main funding source(s): Lilly

Mobile phone-based interventions for improving adherence to medication prescribed for the primary prevention of cardiovascular disease in adults.

Mobile phone-based interventions for improving adherence to medication prescribed for the primary prevention of cardiovascular disease in adults.

Different approaches to the assessment of adherence and persistence with cardiovascular-disease preventive medications

Objective: To assess suitability and comparability of the most common methods of treatment adherence and persistence assessment, as applied to the same pharmacy dataset.Methods: Data on drugs prescribed for cardiovascular primary prevention to participants in the Aragon Workers’ Health Study (AWHS) were collected from a regional electronic drug prescription database. Several different approaches were used to measure treatment adherence (with the medication possession ratio [MPR]) and proportion of days covered [PDC]) and persistence in new users by therapeutic subgroup. Defined daily dose (DDD) was used as a proxy of the number of days’ supply, or substituted with surrogate daily dose values.Results: Higher mean adherence values and proportions of adherent patients were obtained using MPR versus PDC, with additional differences depending on the approach used. The proportion of adherent patients was lowest for oral antidiabetics (14.4%–30.6%) and highest for antihypertensives (70.2%–82.1%). The use of surrogate daily dose values increased adherence for antidiabetics and statins and decreased adherence for antihypertensives. After a 1 year follow-up, treatment persistence was observed for 21.1%, 58.7%, and 29.5% of antidiabetic, antihypertensive and statin users, respectively.Conclusions: Our findings indicate that use of multiple measures of treatment adherence and persistence provides a more complete overview of medication use patterns, and certain limitations associated with DDD for some drug groups can be overcome with replacement by surrogate doses. The PDC indicator seems to provide a more accurate reflection of patient behavior and treatment continuity than the MPR. Any comparison of adherence/persistence should always consider the method used, variables analyzed, and corresponding data collection process.

Mobile phone text messaging to improve medication adherence in secondary prevention of cardiovascular disease.

Worldwide at least 100 million people are thought to have prevalent cardiovascular disease (CVD). This population has a five times greater chance of suffering a recurrent cardiovascular event than people without known CVD. Secondary CVD prevention is defined as action aimed to reduce the probability of recurrence of such events. Drug interventions have been shown to be cost-effective in reducing this risk and are recommended in international guidelines. However, adherence to recommended treatments remains sub-optimal. In order to influence non-adherence, there is a need to develop scalable and cost-effective behaviour-change interventions. To assess the effects of mobile phone text messaging in patients with established arterial occlusive events on adherence to treatment, fatal and non-fatal cardiovascular events, and adverse effects. We searched CENTRAL, MEDLINE, Embase, the Conference Proceedings Citation Index - Science on Web of Science on 7 November 2016, and two clinical trial registers on 12 November 2016. We contacted authors of included studies for missing information and searched reference lists of relevant papers. We applied no language or date restrictions. We included randomised trials with at least 50% of the participants with established arterial occlusive events. We included trials investigating interventions using short message service (SMS) or multimedia messaging service (MMS) with the aim to improve adherence to medication for the secondary prevention of cardiovascular events. Eligible comparators were no intervention or other modes of communication. We used standard methodological procedures expected by Cochrane. In addition, we attempted to contact all authors on how the SMS were developed. We included seven trials (reported in 13 reports) with 1310 participants randomised. Follow-up ranged from one month to 12 months. Due to heterogeneity in the methods, population and outcome measures, we were unable to conduct meta-analysis on these studies. All seven studies reported on adherence, but using different methods and scales. Six out of seven trials showed a beneficial effect of mobile phone text messaging for medication adherence. Dale 2015a, reported significantly greater medication adherence score in the intervention group (Mean Difference (MD) 0.58, 95% confidence interval (CI) 0.19 to 0.97; 123 participants randomised) at six months. Khonsari 2015 reported less adherence in the control group (Relative Risk (RR) 4.09, 95% CI 1.82 to 9.18; 62 participants randomised) at eight weeks. Pandey 2014 (34 participants randomised) assessed medication adherence through self-reported logs with 90% adherence in the intervention group compared to 70% in the control group at 12 months. Park 2014a (90 participants randomised) reported a greater increase of the medication adherence score in the control group, but also measured adherence with an event monitoring system for a number of medications with adherence levels ranging from 84.1% adherence to 86.2% in the intervention group and 79.7% to 85.7% in the control group at 30 days. Quilici 2013, reported reduced odds of non-adherence in the intervention group (Odds Ratio (OR) 0.43, 95% CI 0.22 to 0.86, 521 participants randomised) at 30 days. Fang 2016, reported that participants given SMS alone had reduced odds of being non-adherent compared to telephone reminders (OR 0.40 95% CI 0.18 to 0.63; 280 patients randomised). Kamal 2015 reported higher levels of adherence in the intervention arm (adjusted MD 0.54, 95% CI 0.22 to 0.85; 200 participants randomised). Khonsari 2015 was the only study to report fatal cardiovascular events and only reported two events, both in the control arm. No study reported on the other primary outcomes. No study reported repetitive thumb injury or road traffic crashes or other adverse events that were related to the intervention.Four authors replied to our questionnaire on SMS development. No study reported examining causes of non-adherence or provided SMS tailored to individual patient characteristics.The included studies were small, heterogeneous and included participants recruited directly after acute events. All studies were assessed as having high risk of bias across at least one domain. Most of the studies came from high-income countries, with two studies conducted in an upper middle-income country (China, Malaysia), and one study from a lower middle-income country (Pakistan). The quality of the evidence was found to be very low. There was no obvious conflicts of interest from authors, although only two declared their funding. While the results of this systematic review are promising, there is insufficient evidence to draw conclusions on the effectiveness of text message-based interventions for adherence to medications for secondary prevention of CVD. Sufficiently powered, high-quality randomised trials are needed, particularly in low- and middle-income countries.

The Office Guidelines Applied to Practice program improves secondary prevention of heart disease in Federally Qualified Healthcare Centers.

The burden of cardiovascular disease (CVD) among minority and low-income populations is well documented. This study aimed to assess the impact of patient activation and shared decision-making (SDM) on medication use through the Office-Guidelines Applied to Practice (Office-GAP) intervention in Federally Qualified Healthcare Centers (FQHCs).Patients (243) with diabetes and CHD participated in Office-GAP between October 2010 and March 2014. Two-site (FQHCs) intervention/control design. Office-GAP integrates health literacy, communication skills education for patients and physicians, decision support tools, and SDM into routine care. Main measures: 1) implementation rates, 2) medication use at baseline, 3, 6, and 12 months, and 3) predictors of medication use. Logistic regression with propensity scoring assessed impact on medication use. Intervention arm had 120 and control arm had 123 patients. We found that program elements were consistently used. Compared to control, the Office-GAP program significantly improved medications use from baseline: ACEIs or ARBs at 3 months (OR 1.88, 95% CI = 1.07; 3.30, p < 0.03), 6 months (OR 2.68, 95% CI = 1.58;4.54; p < 0.01); statin at 3 months (OR 2.00, 95% CI = 0.1.22; 3.27; p < 0.05), 6 months (OR 3.05, 95% CI = 1.72; 5.43; p < 0.01), Aspirin and/or clopidogrel at 3 months OR 1.59, 95% CI = 1.02, 2.48; p < 0.05), 6 months (OR 3.67, 95% CI = 1.67; 8.08; p < 0.01). Global medication adherence was predicted only by Office-GAP intervention presence and hypertension.Office-GAP resulted in increased use of guideline-based medications for secondary CVD prevention in underserved populations. The Office-GAP program could serve as a model for implementing guideline-based care for other chronic diseases.

The English North-South divide: risk factors for cardiovascular disease accounting for cross-sectional socio-economic position

Given a North-South divide in mortality in England, we aimed to assess the extent of a North-South divide in risk factors for cardiovascular disease (CVD), controlling for markers of socio-economic position (SEP). We undertook cross-sectional analyses using respondents from the 2006 Health Survey for England. We assessed mean systolic blood pressure, total cholesterol, body mass index (BMI) and smoking prevalence in the two regions. We built nested regression models adding demographic factors, SEP indicators, behavioural risk factors, vascular disease status and CVD preventive medications stepwise into each model. We examined interactions between region, age and gender. Controlling for demographic variables, we found a northern excess in systolic blood pressure (+1.95mmHg (SE = 0.40)), BMI (0.40kgm(-2) (SE = 0.12)) and smoking prevalence (5.6% (SE = 1.1)). The difference in smoking prevalence was entirely abolished by markers of SEP. Systolic blood pressure and BMI differences were attenuated by SEP, behavioural and disease indicators, but remained (+1.63mmHg (SE = 0.41) and 0.25kgm(-2) (SE = 0.12), respectively). However, they were lost after adjustment for preventive medication. The North-South divide in systolic blood pressure was attributed to differences in men and younger-to-middle-aged groups. Northern respondents were more physically active, especially younger men. English North-South differences in smoking can be explained through adverse, cross-sectional SEP. Northern excesses in blood pressure and BMI may be associated with differential clinical management. Risk factor differences may, in part, explain a previously found North-South divide in mortality. Further exploration of geographic inequalities, concentrating on the impact of healthcare, may be warranted.

Monitoring and treatment for cardiovascular risk

BackgroundIn many countries there is a gap between the clinical evidence for cardiovascular disease (CVD) prevention and implementation in clinical practice. Inadequate control of cardiovascular risk factors and underutilization of aspirin, statins, angiotensin converting enzyme inhibitors and β-blockers are well-established examples. The optimal approach to implementation of CVD prevention in clinical practice is still under debate. The screening and monitoring (SaM) approach is based on cyclic monitoring and individual treatment of patients with cardiovascular risk factors in the primary care setting. After achieving improvements in risk factor levels and in the use of preventive medications in a pilot study, it was decided to test the efficacy of this approach in a larger population at risk.MethodsFive primary care clinics adopted the SaM approach. A total of 1622 patients with established CVD, diabetes mellitus or hypertension were assessed by their family physicians for cardiovascular risk factors and use of medications for cardiovascular risk reduction. Interventions were made according to accepted clinical guidelines. Cardiovascular risk factor levels and the use of medications for CVD prevention were retrospectively analyzed.ResultsThe results demonstrated significant reductions in blood pressure, hemoglobin A1c and low-density lipoprotein-cholesterol levels, as well as significant increases in the use of medications for CVD prevention.ConclusionA systematic approach to CVD reduction, with an emphasis on multiple risk factor assessment and use of preventive medications in patients at cardiovascular risk, yielded significant improvements in measures of the quality of preventive care.

Combination Polypharmacy for Cardiovascular Disease Prevention in Men: A Decision Analysis and Cost‐Effectiveness Model

Pharmacotherapies to lower blood pressure and cholesterol are effective in the primary prevention of cardiovascular disease (CVD). The use of fixed-dose medication combinations has not been well studied. The authors created a Markov model to analyze the cost-effectiveness of 4 fixed-dose medications for primary CVD prevention in men. The initial decision node was to treat or not treat men older than 55 years, without CVD, hypertension, or dyslipidemia with a combination of simvastatin, captopril, hydrochlorothiazide, and atenolol. Probability, costs, and effectiveness were derived from the literature. The outcome variable was marginal cost per quality-adjusted life-year (QALY). Sensitivity analyses were performed. The average cost of treatment was $70,000 compared with $93,000 for non-treatment. Treatment resulted in 13.62 QALYs vs 12.96 QALYs without treatment. Primary prevention of CVD with fixed-dose medications dominated "no-treatment." The use of a fixed-dose polypharmacy approach to CVD prevention in men older than 55 years may be cost-effective.