Chronic medication intake in patients with stable coronary heart disease across Europe: Evidence from the daily clinical practice. Results from the ESC EORP European Survey of Cardiovascular Disease Prevention and Diabetes (EUROASPIRE IV) Registry

Background: As advised by the European guidelines on cardiovascular prevention, medication intake is a major component of secondary prevention. The aim of this study is to provide an in-depth overview of the medication intake in stable European coronary heart disease (CHD) patients. Methods: Analyses are based on the EUROASPIRE IV survey, including CHD patients (18 to 80 years) who were hospitalized for a coronary event. These patients were interviewed and examined 6 months to 3 years after their hospitalization. Information on cardiovascular medication intake is available for 7953 patients. Results: About 99.2% of patients were on any kind of cardiovascular medication and 67.6% of patients were taking at least 5 different cardiovascular drugs. Overall, even when patients are taking the recommended drug combination as advised by the European guidelines - accounting for their disease profile - a large proportion of patients is still not on blood pressure, LDL-C or HbA1c target In addition, huge variations were seen in medication dose intake across countries. Comparing the dose intake to the defined daily dose (DDD as published by the WHO) indicated a substantial deviation from the DDDs for a large proportion of patients. Conclusion: This study provides a unique overview of the cardiovascular medication intake in CHD patients. Overall, even when patients are taking the advised drug combination, a large proportion of patients is still not on risk factor target. Physicians should seek for a balance in medication intake and appropriate dose, accounting both for the benefits and risks of chronic drug intake. (C) 2019 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.