Initial cardiovascular treatment patterns during the first 90 days following an incident cardiovascular event

Aims: The aim of this study was to investigate the initial cardiovascular prescription patterns in patients after their first cardiovascular events, and to identify factors associated with cardiovascular polypharmacy.

Methods: This was a cross-sectional study including patients aged ≥ 45 years with the first record of coronary heart disease (CHD) or stroke between 2007 and 2016 using The Health Improvement Network database. This study investigated the patterns of cardiovascular drugs prescribed during the first 90 days after the first cardiovascular events. Logistic regression was used to examine the association between patients' baseline characteristics and cardiovascular polypharmacy (≥5 cardiovascular drugs).

Results: A total of 121,600 (59,843 CHD and 61,757 stroke) patients were included in the study. The mean age was 69.5 ± 11.9 years. The proportion of patients who were prescribed 0–1, 2–3, 4–5 drugs and ≥6 drugs were 11.0%, 29.8%, 38.6% and 20.5%, respectively. Factors associated with cardiovascular polypharmacy were sex (female: OR 0.74, 95% CI 0.72–0.76 vs male), age (75–84 years old: OR 0.50, 0.47–0.53 vs 45–54 years old), smoking status (current smoking: OR 1.29, 1.15–1.24 vs never), body mass index (obesity: OR 1.38, 1.34–1.43 vs normal), deprivation status (most deprived: OR 1.09, 1.04–1.14 vs least deprived) and Charlson comorbidity index (index ≥5: OR 1.25, 1.16–1.35 vs index 0).

Conclusion: Multiple cardiovascular drugs treatment was common in patients with CVD in the UK. High-risk factors of CVD were also associated with cardiovascular polypharmacy. Further studies are warranted to assess the impact of cardiovascular polypharmacy and its interaction on CVD recurrence and mortality.