MedPage Today (8/22, Phend, 185K)
reports that research published online in the Journal of the American College
of Cardiology suggests that while most “heart attack patients leave the
hospital on secondary prevention medications, only about a third get
appropriate doses.” The researchers found that “initial dose was key, because
about three-quarters of those who didn’t go home on a dose within 75% of the
dose proven effective in landmark trials didn’t get an increase during
follow-up care.”
CardioSource (8/22, 2K) reports
that the researchers “note that their results ‘may explain why the findings
from clinical trials, where there was clear evidence of benefit for each
medicine promoted by performance measures, have been discordant from those in
clinical practice, where the impact of performance measures on reducing
mortality has been underwhelming.’”
HeartWire (8/22, Wood, 5K) reports that Dr.
Christopher Cannon, in an editorial accompanying the study, wrote, “In our
efforts to offer high-quality care, we usually check to make sure that all
appropriate, guideline-recommended medications are used but really haven’t paid
as much attention to the dose of these medications, and thus this paper is a
real eye-opener.”
POSTED BY: Steven Almany M.D.
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