Evaluation study of Polypharmacy incidence among cardiac patients in Greece

Abstract

Introduction: Demographic change has affected the progressive increase in the number of older people, many of whom are suffering from cardiovascular disease and are living with a variety of comorbidities and disorders at the same time, resulting in a complex drug treatment and polypharmacy.
Purpose: The purpose of the study was to investigate the impact of Polypharmacy on cardiac patients and the factors that affect it
Material-Method: This is a randomized study, which concerns 350 cardiac patients who visited two regional hospitals in the country from 01/12/2020 to 25/4/2021. The tool used in the research was the questionnaire of Polypharmacy and Adherence Among Diabetic Patients in Greece which was adapted for the needs of the present study.
Results: The study sample consists of 350 cardiac patients of whom 65.1% consume 5 or more drugs. Regarding the clinical characteristics of patients, the most common heart disease is arrhythmias (36.3%), followed by heart failure (29.1%), while diabetes is the most common comorbidity (32.6%). The correlation tests found statistically significant differences between people taking 5 or more drugs per day, (polypharmacy) with the simultaneous existence of other diseases and disorders and more specifically diabetes (p <0.001), dyslipidemia (p = 0.002) and mental disorders (p = 0.017).
Conclusions: The significant rate of polypharmacy found in the present study makes it imperative to ensure the relevance of all prescription drugs by clinicians as well as the provision of pharmaceutical care aimed at preventing inappropriate polypharmacy to reduce its associated costs.