Guideline concordant prescribing following myocardial infarction in people who are frail: A systematic review

Frailty and prescriptions of secondary prevention medications in older people with diabetes and coronary heart disease-An observational study in Vietnam

OBJECTIVES

This study sought to quantify the prevalence of frailty among type 2 diabetes (T2D) patients with coronary heart disease (CHD) and examine the relationship between frailty and the prescription of secondary prevention medications.

METHODS

A prospective observational study was conducted at a tertiary hospital in Vietnam from November 2022 to June 2023. Patients aged 60 years or above with T2D and CHD were included for analysis. Multivariable logistic regression was applied to examine the association between frailty and the prescription of secondary prevention medications: antiplatelets, statins, beta-blockers, angiotensin-converting enzyme inhibitors or angiotensin II receptor blockers (ACEIs/ARBs). Frailty was measured using the Clinical Frailty Scale (CFS) version 2.0.

RESULTS

There were 274 participants included in this analysis. Participants had a median age of 72.0 years, 28% were female and 59% were frail. The prescription rates of cardiovascular medicines for frail versus non-frail participants were as follows: antiplatelets (66% vs. 94%, p < .001), statins (96% vs. 92%, p = .21), beta-blockers (81% vs. 88%, p = .13), ACEIs/ARBs (75% vs. 81%, p = .22) and for all four types (42% vs. 64%, p < .001). In the multiple adjusted regression models, increased CFS score was associated with reduced prescriptions of beta-blockers, ACEIs/ARBs and all four types of medications.

CONCLUSIONS

Frailty was common among older Vietnamese patients with CHD and diabetes, and significantly affected the prescription of secondary prevention medicines. Future research should explore the link between frailty and secondary prevention medicines in a larger, more diverse population.

The impact of frailty on initiation, continuation and discontinuation of secondary prevention medications following myocardial infarction

AIM

To evaluate the association between frailty and initiating, continuing, or discontinuing secondary prevention medications following myocardial infarction (MI).

METHODS

We conducted a cohort study using linked health data, including all adults aged ≥65 years who discharged from hospital following MI from January 2013 to April 2018 in Victoria, Australia (N = 29,771). The Hospital Frailty Risk Score (HFRS) was used to assess frailty. Logistic regression was used to investigate associations of frailty with initiation, continuation, and discontinuation of secondary prevention medications (P2Y12 inhibitor antiplatelets, beta-blockers, renin-angiotensin-aldosterone system (RAAS) inhibitors, and lipid-lowering therapies) in the 90 days from discharge post-MI, by HFRS, adjusted for age, sex, and Charlson Comorbidity Index.

RESULTS

Increasing frailty was associated with lower probability of initiating and continuing P2Y12 inhibitors, RAAS inhibitors, and lipid-lowering therapies, but not beta-blockers. At at an HFRS of 0, the predicted probabiliy of having all four medications initiated or continued was 0.59 (95 %CI 0.57-0.62) for STEMI and 0.35 (0.34-0.36) for non-STEMI, compared to 0.38 (0.33-0.42) and 0.16 (0.14-0.18) at an HFRS of 15. Increasing frailty was associated with higher probability of discontinuing these medications post-MI. The predicted probability of discontinuing at least one secondary prevention medication post-MI at an HFRS of 0 was 0.10 (0.08-0.11) for STEMI and 0.14 (0.13-0.15) for non-STEMI, compared to 0.27 (0.22-0.32) and 0.34 (0.32-0.36) at an HFRS of 15.

CONCLUSION

People with higher levels of frailty were managed more conservatively following MI than people with lower levels of frailty. Whether this conservative treatment is justified warrants further study.

Use of secondary prevention medications in metropolitan and non-metropolitan areas: an analysis of 41,925 myocardial infarctions in Australia

BACKGROUND

People in remote areas may have more difficulty accessing healthcare following myocardial infarction (MI) than people in metropolitan areas. We determined whether remoteness was associated with initial and 12-month use of secondary prevention medications following MI in Victoria, Australia.

METHOD

We included all people alive at least 90 days post-discharge following MI between July 2012 and June 2017 in Victoria, Australia (n=41,925). We investigated dispensing of P2Y12 inhibitors (P2Y12i), statins, ACE-inhibitors or angiotensin receptor blockers (ACEI/ARBs), and beta-blockers within 90 days post-discharge. We estimated 12-month medication use using proportion of days covered (PDC). Remoteness was determined using the Accessibility/Remoteness Index of Australia (ARIA). Data were analyzed using adjusted parametric regression models stratified by STEMI and NSTEMI.

RESULTS

There were 10,819 STEMI admissions and 31,106 NSTEMI admissions. Following adjustment across NSTEMI and STEMI, there were no medication classes dispensed in the 90-days post-discharge that differed in a clinically significant way from the least remote (ARIA=0) to the most remote (ARIA=4.8) areas. The largest difference for NSTEMI were ACEi/ARB, with 71%(95%CI 70-72%) versus 80%(76%-83%). For STEMI, it was statins with 89%(88-90%) versus 95%(91-97%). Predicted PDC for STEMI and NSTEMI were not clinically significant across remoteness, with the largest difference in NSTEMI being P2Y12i with 48%(47-50%) versus 55%(51-59%), and in STEMI it was ACEi/ARB with 68%(67-69%) versus 76%(70-80%).

CONCLUSION

Remoteness does not appear to be a clinically significant driver for medication use following MI. Possible differences in cardiovascular outcomes in metropolitan and non-metropolitan areas are not likely to be explained by access to secondary prevention medications.