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LEARNING TO LIVE WITH THE EFFECTS OF A HEART ATTACK: LONG-TERM DRUG THERAPY

In this section we shall attempt to teach a short course in drug therapy for the patient who uses the drugs rather than for the physician who prescribes them.

Studies have shown that only part of the patients to whom drugs have been prescribed actually take them. Only one in five hypertensive patients takes his medication regularly. Aside from the high cost of medication could one reason be that patients need to know more about the drug they use three times a day and why they should take it? However, these questions are difficult to answer without causing controversy among physicians and pharmaceutical companies.

Physicians are afraid for good reasons that too much information could cause fear and misunderstanding. Therefore, we would like to make a few preliminary comments. In this chapter only groups of drugs are discussed which are used in the long-term treatment of the chronic phase of coronary heart disease. Drugs for emergency treatment, for example in the acute stage of a heart attack, are not mentioned. Moreover, particularities of individual cases should be considered by the attending physician.

Often the physician is asked impatiently how long the drug must be continued. The frequent answer to this question is that the patient will probably have to take it for the rest of his life. The reason for this is that the drugs described in this chapter do not simply cure one symptom which appears temporarily and should be suppressed for this short period of time. Instead, these drugs are more like a prothesis which takes over a function the body itself can no longer perform.

As we grow older we must learn to accept different protheses, whether they be glasses, false teeth, or artificial limbs.

If we re-examine patients whose condition has improved greatly, we usually find that they have complied with long-term drug therapy.

We shall discuss briefly only those questions which are frequently raised by patients. These key words should then lead to further discussions with the physician. We hope to emphasize that it is possible to achieve satisfactory treatment by using various drugs and that different names or doses of drugs do not always indicate different treatment methods. We emphasize this point only to allay possible fears.

Unfortunately, few patients know the names of the drugs they are taking and can speak only of "small white and large yellow pills." Since the physician must have more precise information about the medication the patient is taking, you should retain the name, group, and effect of your drugs.

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Cardio & Blood/Cholesterol