Patients' Use of Cardiac Medications After Coronary Revascularization

Patients are less likely to take their medications after coronary artery bypass grafting than after percutaneous coronary interventions.

Coronary artery bypass grafting (CABG) and percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) do not cure atherosclerosis; medical therapy (e.g., antiplatelet agents, statins, β-blockers) is recommended routinely after such procedures. But does use of these medications differ after CABG versus PCI? To address this question, researchers evaluated data from a large integrated health system for 8837 patients who underwent CABG and for 14,516 who underwent PCI.

Based on dispensing records and adjusted for the many baseline differences between CABG and PCI patients, data showed that those who underwent CABG were significantly more likely not to fill their prescriptions for statins (7% vs. 5%) or angiotensin-converting–enzyme (ACE) inhibitors/angiotensin-re…

Reviewing Author

Kirsten E. Fleischmann, MD, MPH

Disclosures

Grant/Research SupportNational Institutes of Health

Leadership Positions in Professional SocietiesAmerican College of Cardiology/American Heart Association

Kirsten E. Fleischmann, MD, MPH

Disclosures

Grant/Research SupportNational Institutes of Health

Leadership Positions in Professional SocietiesAmerican College of Cardiology/American Heart Association