Simple steps help after Heart attack

March 11, 2008

Heart attack survivors may do better at taking vital medications if they get follow-up care and a reminder letter.

One of the studies shows that heart attack survivors were more likely to fill their prescriptions for cardiovascular drugs called beta-blockers if they got two letters reminding them to do so.

That study included 836 U.S. heart attack survivors with prescriptions for beta-blockers. Half of them got two letters, sent two months apart, about the importance of taking beta-blockers. For comparison, the other half of the group didn't get any reminder letters.

During the nine-month study, patients who got the reminder letters were more likely to fill their beta-blocker prescriptions. They were 17% more likely than patients in the comparison group to have their beta-blocker prescription filled at least 80% of the time.

The findings are "encouraging," write the researchers. The improvement in filling beta-blocker prescriptions was "relatively modest," but "even a small improvement" is likely to be helpful, notes editorialist.

Care after Heart attack
The second study stresses the importance of getting follow-up care after a heart attack - ideally, with the patient's primary care physician and cardiologist collaborating on that care.

The study shows that 1,516 U.S. heart attack survivors were more likely to get beta-blocker prescriptions if they got early follow-up care after their heart attack.

These results suggest that outpatient follow-up, including collaborative follow-up within the first weeks after [heart attack], may result in higher-quality patient care, write the researchers.

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