Up to 50% of patients who are prescribed medication for primary prevention of coronary heart disease, and 34% prescribed medication for secondary prevention, do not adhere to their treatment.¹ Improving adherence to medications can therefore prevent a significant number of unnecessary cardiovascular events and deaths.²

This session will look at the complexities of treatment adherence, drawing on the panelists’ experiences related to taking their medication, the burden of multiple pills, the challenges of living with comorbid conditions, and the importance of quality of life when discussing the impact of treatment.

Ultimately, the aim of the session is to give physicians and other attendees a better understanding of the challenges faced by patients, and what they can do to better support efforts to adhere to medication regimens.

Chairs

• Prof. Juan Carlos Kaski, St George’s University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust, UK
• Prof. Clara Ines Saldarriaga, Clinica CardioVID, Colombia

Speakers

• Ms Maria George, INOCA International, UK
• Mr Max Groenhart, Global Heart Hub, the Netherlands
• Mr Steven Macari, Association Vie et Coeur, France

1. Naderi SH, Bestwick JP, Wald DS. Adherence to drugs that prevent cardiovascular disease: meta-analysis on 376,162 patients. The American journal of medicine. 2012 Sep 1;125(9):882-7.
2. Bansilal S, Castellano JM, Garrido E, Wei HG, Freeman A, Spettell C, Garcia-Alonso F, Lizano I, Arnold RJ, Rajda J, Steinberg G. Assessing the impact of medication adherence on long-term cardiovascular outcomes. Journal of the American College of Cardiology. 2016 Aug 23;68(8):789-801.