I read with great interest the recent report of Kulik et al on adherence to statin therapy in elderly patients after hospitalization for coronary revascularization. The investigators concluded that in patients receiving invasive coronary treatment, despite strong evidence supporting their use, statin adherence remains suboptimal. In another recent study addressing the adherence to medications, only 27% of patients who underwent coronary artery bypass grafting were treated with clopidogrel after hospital discharge, although the guidelines since 2004 have suggested that post–myocardial infarction patients take clopidogrel for 9 to 12 months after coronary artery bypass grafting. This had an impact on outcomes, as the clopidogrel-treated patients had a lower risk for the combined end point of death or recurrent myocardial infarction. In the study by Kulik et al, the prehospital use of clopidogrel in the coronary artery bypass grafting group was 19.5%, and postdischarge use was 9.3% (vs 22.1% in the medical therapy group after discharge). It is important to highlight this finding to focus on discharge medications of patients who undergo revascularization.
References
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