Identification of potentially inappropriate medications with risk of major adverse cardiac and cerebrovascular events among elderly patients in ambulatory setting and long-term care facilities

Purpose: Cardiovascular diseases (CVDs) are extremely common among the elderly, but information on the use of potentially inappropriate medications (PIMs) with cardiovascular risk is scarce. We aimed to determine the prevalence of PIMs with risk of cardiac and cerebrovascular adverse events (CCVAEs), including major adverse cardiac and cerebrovascular events (MACCE). Patients and methods: A cross-sectional study was performed using a convenience sample from four long-term care facilities and one community pharmacy in Portugal. Patients were included if they were aged 65 or older and presented at least one type of medication in their medical and pharmacotherapeutic records from 2015 until December 2017. The main outcome was defined as the presence of PIMs with risk of MACCE and was assessed by applying a PIM-MACCE list that was developed from a previous study. All medications included in this list were assessed for their availability in Portugal. Results: A total of 680 patients were included. Of those, 428 (63%) were female with a mean age of 78.4±8.1 years. Four-hundred and four (59.4%) patients were taking medications associated with CCVAEs risk (mean =1.7±1.0 drugs/patient), including 264 patients (38.8%) who used drugs with MACCE risk (mean =1.4±0.8 drugs/patient). Fifty percent of patients with a previous history of CVD (n=521) were taking PIMs with risk of CCVAEs, including 30.0% with risk of MACCE. Conclusion: Our findings show that 50% of patients with previous history of CVD were taking drugs with risk of CCAVEs and 30% with risk of MACCE. More tailored tools for the management of drug therapy in elderly patients with CVD are of major importance in clinical practice.