The Key to Their Hearts: The Indispensable Role of the Primary Care Clinician in the Management of Patients Post-MI

Faculty

Needs Statement

Recent heart disease and stroke statistics indicates that an alarming 23% of patients do not fill their cardiac medications within 7 days post discharge and 18% of patients do not fill the prescriptions even after 120 days. A majority of patients were found to have stopped taking β-blockers between 30 and 90 days with only 45% of the patients taking them at 1 year. Disturbingly, 12% of patients discharged with aspirin, β-blockers, and a statin were found to have discontinued all 3 medications within 1 month. Long-term use of these combinations of drugs in patients with ACS has been shown to decrease mortality dramatically and improve overall survival. Additionally, the clinical practice guidelines recommended by ACC/AHA/SCAI on the pharmacotherapeutic management of patients post-ACS have been recently updated based on new data/results that have been published. Thus physicians need to be keenly aware of not just the ACC/AHA/SCAI recommended guidelines but also the lack of adherence of patients to the prescribed antiplatelet and ancillary therapy so that the overall outcomes are better for the patient. Hence, this newsletter will review the importance of door-to-treatment time, gender differences in symptom presentation, and ACC/AHA/SCAI guidelines on pharmacotherapeutic management of patients.

Target Audience

This activity is designed for primary care clinicians, registered nurses, and other healthcare professionals interested in the management of patients with ACS.

Objectives

1. Implement key recommendations on pharmacotherapy for patients post-ACS according to the ACC/AHA/SCAI guidelines;
2. Discuss the impact of door-to-treatment time on the overall outcomes of patients with MI

Accreditation

CME
This activity has been planned and implemented in accordance with the Essential Areas and policies of the Accreditation Council for Continuing Medical Education through the joint sponsorship of the University of Kentucky College of Medicine and ACCELMED. The University of Kentucky College of Medicine is accredited by the ACCME to provide continuing medical education for physicians.

The University of Kentucky College of Medicine designates this enduring material for a maximum of 0.25 AMA PRA Category 1 Credit(s)™. Physicians should only claim credit commensurate with the extent of their participation in the activity.

The University of Kentucky College of Medicine presents this activity for educational purposes only. Participants are expected to utilize their own expertise and judgment while engaged in the practice of medicine. The content of the presentations is provided solely by presenters who have been selected for presentations because of recognized expertise in their field.

Faculty Disclosure

Dr. Gurbel has served as a consultant to Boston Scientific, Medtronic, ThromboScience; and has received research support from AstraZeneca, Bayer, Haemoscope and NIH, Schering-Plough Corporation/Millennium Pharmaceuticals, Inc.

Dr. Toth has served on the speaker's bureau for Daiichi Sankyo, Inc.

None of the planners involved in this activity report any relevant financial relationships with commercial interests.

The authors wish to thank Janardhan Sampath, PhD, who contributed to the writing of the newsletter on behalf of ACCELMED.

Activity Sponsorship

This activity is jointly sponsored by the University of Kentucky and ACCELMED. Supported by an unrestricted educational grant from Lilly USA, LLC and Daiichi Sankyo, Inc.