HYPERTENSION AND POLYPHARMACY: AN EPIDEMIC TO CONTROL
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.58043/rphrc.16Abstract
Introduction: The lack of therapeutic adherence is a common problem in hypertensive patients, resulting in potentially preventable cardiovascular events. Thus, it is urgent to identify the causes as well as areas of improvement.
Methods: A random sample of 178 patients admitted to an internal medicine ward over a year was obtained. In relation to each of these, information was collected regarding age, sex, the existence of a previous diagnosis of arterial hypertension and the performance of polypharmacy ambulatory, which is defined by taking 5 or more pharmaceutical compounds.
Results: We found a high number of hypertensive patients, 110 cases, corresponding to 61.8% of the total sample. In addition, there was a statistically significant relation - Pearson’s chi- square test with a significance of 0.005 - between hypertension and polypharmacy. Discussion: In the analysis of a sample composed of patients with multiple comorbidities and polypharmacy, we found that hypertension has a particularly significant impact on this association. Combined drug treatments in these patients may contribute to decrease therapeutic complexity and enhance adherence, in addition to their physiological benefits.
Conclusion: Polypharmacy is a common problem in hypertensive patients. Combined drug treatments established ad initium, as recommended by the most recent guidelines, can contribute to therapeutic simplification and adherence.
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References
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