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More seniors
who have suffered a heart attack in the past are using drugs
to lower their cholesterol even though many are unaware of
potential side effects, according to a study reported in the
May 13th issue of the Archives of Internal Medicine.
Similar
studies conducted between 1994 and 1996 found that only 12
percent to 29 percent of elderly heart attack patients were
taking cholesterol-lowering drugs even though their use has
been shown to reduce mortality and adverse cardiac events
among people aged 65 to 75 years with coronary heart disease.
To determine
whether the situation had improved, researchers at Brigham
and Women's Hospital and Harvard Medical School conducted
a telephone survey during 1999 and 2000 of 815 Medicare beneficiaries
who were hospitalized for an acute myocardial infarction during
1994 and 1995.
Among
the respondents, 59.4% reported taking a cholesterol-lowering
drug, but most were not aware of potential adverse effects.
Only 33.1% of respondents knew their cholesterol level.
The researchers
attributed the increased use of such drugs to increased attention
to secondary prevention, but they acknowledged that more education
about cholesterol treatment and testing is needed.
Source:
Heart
Disease Week of May 26, 2002
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