ADHERENCE TO ANTIHYPERTENSIVE MEDICATION IN HEART FAILURE PATIENTS FOLLOWED IN A TERTIARY HOSPITAL CENTRE

• Autor(a) principal: Pedroso, Diogo
• Data de Publicação: 2022
• Outros Autores: Norberto, Ana, Cabral, Ana, Lavrador, Marta, Castel-Branco, Margarida, Fernandez-Llimos, Fernando, Gonçalves, Lino, Vitória Figueiredo, Isabel
• Tipo de documento: Artigo
• Idioma: por
• Título da fonte: Repositório Científico de Acesso Aberto de Portugal (Repositórios Cientìficos)
• Texto Completo: https://doi.org/10.58043/rphrc.4
• topic: Insuficiência Cardíaca; Adesão à terapêutica; Medicação antihipertensora; Questionários; MUAH-16; Heart Failure; Treatment Adherence and Compliance; Questionnaires; Antihypertensive Agents; MUAH-16

Introduction: Heart Failure is a cardiovascular syndrome resulting from a structural and/or functional anomaly of the cardiac muscle, resulting in reduced cardiac output and elevated intracardiac pressures. Adherence to antihypertensive therapy has a major influence on the outcomes of heart failure, not limited only to the treatment of high blood pressure, but also the regulation of the hydro-electrolytic balance and the reduction of cardiac workload. To achieve better outcomes, the identification of the main reasons underlying the low adherence rates to optimized HF medical therapy is necessary. Objective: This study aimed to evaluate heart failure patients’ adherence to antihypertensive therapy and associated causes for non-adherence. Methods: Cross-sectional study conducted in the cardiology department of Coimbra ́s Tertiary Hospital. Between June 2019 and November 2019 all consecutive adult heart failure patients attending to the outpatient HF outpatient clinic, with a prescription of, at least, one antihypertensive agent, were invited to participate. This study was approved by the local Ethics Commission (CE 008-19). Socio-demographic and patient-related data were collected and the short version of Maastricht Utrecht Adherence in Hypertension, MUAH-16, was applied. Results: A total of 125 patients were enrolled in the study, 72.8% males, with a mean age of 65.7 ± 1.7 years [62 with a blood pressure tendentially high or normal (HT) and 63 with low blood pressure (HoT)]. The mean score of MUAH-16 on the total sample was 93.4 ± 7. 5 (in a maximum of 112 points). Considering the mean scores of MUAH-16 subscales, being 28 points the maximum scoring, the results obtained were: positive attitude toward health care and medication: 25.9 ± 2.6; lack of discipline: 25.4 ± 3.5; aversion toward medication: 19.7 ± 4.7; active coping with health problems: 22.1 ± 3.3. Sub-group analysis shows no statistically significant differences between HT and HoT patients. Conclusion: The studied population showed satisfactory levels of adherence to antihypertensive therapy, even so, improvements can be obtained if specific strategies to decrease aversion toward medication and to improve active coping with health problems are developed.