Key result
Chronic HF patients demonstrate low drug awareness, with ~51% self-medicating, most commonly with analgesics.
Why the study?
Patient awareness toward drug treatment and tendencies toward self-medication are critical for adherence and safety in chronic HF, but remained unexplored dimensions.
What is the level of drug treatment awareness and prevalence of self-medication practices among patients with chronic heart failure?
Cross-Sectional (n=256)
No
What is the level of drug treatment awareness and prevalence of self-medication practices among patients with chronic heart failure?
Chronic heart failure patients demonstrate poor awareness of their prescribed medications and a high prevalence of potentially hazardous self-medication practices, highlighting a critical gap in patient education.
Underscores HF medication education gaps; leaves open whether interventions reduce self-medication risks.
Introduction: Treatment adherence is crucial in management of chronic heart failure (HF) to prevent complications (hospitalizations). Patient awareness toward drug treatment is essential to ensure adherence. In addition, there is tendency to self-medicate which can be hazardous in these patients. The present study was planned to evaluate drug treatment awareness, patient tendency to self-medicate and prescription patterns in chronic HF patients. Methodology: A cross-sectional, single-center, questionnaire-based study was conducted in the cardiology outpatient department of a tertiary care hospital from April 2021 to November 2022 after obtaining institutional ethics committee permission. Consented patients aged >18 years of either gender with confirmed diagnosis of chronic HF on stable drug treatment were included. Current prescription details were recorded, subsequently patients were administered a prevalidated drug treatment awareness (11-item, score-11) questionnaire and self-medication practice (12-item) questionnaire. Results: Two hundred and fifty-six HF patients were enrolled and the overall mean treatment awareness score was 5.06 ± 1.77 and content accuracy was poor for names of the prescribed drugs (58/256,23%), dose/frequency (20/256, 8%) and adverse effects (0). Fifty-one percent HF patients indulged in self-medication practices with most common self-medicating drugs being analgesics. The average number of drugs/encounter was 5.95 ± 1.12 and most common class was beta-blockers. Conclusion: Drug treatment awareness lacked in names, dose, frequency, and adverse effects of the prescribed drugs. Nearly 50% patients indulged in self-medication practices, maximum with analgesics. The most common drug class prescribed was beta-blockers (Metoprolol) followed by angiotensin converting enzyme inhibitors (Ramipril).
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Tripathi et al. (2025) conducted a cross-sectional in chronic heart failure (n=256). Drug treatment awareness and self-medication practices was evaluated on Drug treatment awareness score and self-medication practices. Among chronic heart failure patients, the mean drug treatment awareness score was 5.06 out of 11, and 51% of patients engaged in self-medication practices, most commonly with analgesics.
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