Pharmacological Treatment, Lifestyle Modification and Awareness in Coronary Artery and Cerebrovascular Disease Patients

Cardiovascular diseases (CVD) and cerebrovascular diseases (CeVD) are large and growing problems in low- and middle-income populations. Secondary prevention, which can reduce the risk of recurrent CVD includes changes in lifestyle, pharmacological interventions and revascularization procedures. The aim of the first phase of this project was to perform situation analysis and identify gaps in secondary prevention of major cardiovascular diseases. This study estimated the physicians' awareness and the patients' knowledge and behavior towards CVD and CeVD complications. It also assessed the efficacy of methods for decreasing recurrent events.
A sample of consecutive patients was selected from the outpatient units of the health care facilities selected for the study. Stratified random sampling of primary and secondary private and public health care facilities in cities and villages was performed to select 449 eligible cases. A total of 257 men and 192 women were selected. The inclusion criteria were as follows: Age above 21 years, established diagnosis of CVD and/or CeVD defined as any of the following alone or in combination with others: previous myocardial infarction, stable/unstable angina, percutaneous transluminal coronary angioplasty (PTCA), coronary artery bypass graft (CABG), stroke, transient ischemic attack (TIA), and/or carotid arterectomy. The patients were included if their first event had occurred more than a month, but no earlier than three years before the study.
The prevalence of high systolic and diastolic blood pressure was 40.1% and 26.9% respectively in MI patients, and 70.1% and 51.2% respectively in CeVD patients. In most of the patients, fasting blood sugar and total cholesterol were within the normal range. Among MI patients, 93.9%, 68.5% and 48.2% were already taking aspirin, beta-blockers and statins, respectively. Among CeVD patients, 79.9%, 61.1% and 23.2% were taking aspirin, beta-blockers and statins, respectively. Blood pressure had been managed in 94.9% and 93.7% of MI and CeVD patients, respectively. Among MI patients, 85.8% and 83.2% had correct behavior towards blood sugar and cholesterol control and 68% had adequate knowledge of the risk of recurrent events.
Secondary prevention of vascular diseases should be regarded as a key component of public health strategies to reduce the rising burden of CVD and CeVD in Iran.