Category: Heart Health and Cholesterol
Many patients who receive unhealthy cholesterol test results are given prescriptions for statin medications. However, a new study suggests that a significant percentage of these individuals stop taking their drugs without a physician's orders and that this can have serious consequences.
Investigators from pharmacy benefits management company Express Scripts reviewed patient data from groups of seniors taking either statin medications or blood pressure-lowering drugs. The results showed that individuals who stopped taking their statins were 28 percent more likely to be hospitalized for cardiovascular complications than those who continued to take their drugs.
Additionally, blood pressure medication patients who stopped taking their prescriptions were 31 percent more likely to be hospitalized than patients who followed their doctors' orders.
The researchers said that problems like high cholesterol and blood pressure do not present any symptoms. Therefore, many people stop taking their medications when they feel healthy, even though they may have major cardiovascular risks.
They recommended that anyone who has received a prescription from their doctor continue taking the medication until instructed otherwise.
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