ANTIHYPERTENSIVE DRUGS ADHERENCE IN HEART DISEASE PATIENTS REFERRING TO THE IMAM REZA CLINIC IN SHIRAZ

Patient medication adherence refers to the timely and correct use of medications prescribed by the physician. The aim of this study was to determine the adherence rate of antihypertensive drugs in heart disease patients referring to the Imam Reza Clinic in Shiraz, Iran.
This cross-sectional study was performed on 282 heart disease patients, who used antihypertensive, referring to Imam Reza (AS) clinic in Shiraz in 1396. For data collection, a demographic questionnaire and a Morisky Medication Adherence Scale, which was valid for the Iranian community, were used. Data were analyzed using SPSS software.
The results of this study revealed that the antihypertensive drug adherence in 95 heart disease patients (76%) was low. However, 16% and 7% of the patients reported moderate and high adherence to antihypertensive drugs, respectively. The most common causes of patients’ antihypertensive drug non-adherence were forgetting to take the medication (76.2 %), irregular taking of the medication while traveling (63.8) or while leaving the house, and being tired as a result of daily and continually taking the drugs (58.5 %). Moreover, the results showed that by aging, the antihypertensive drug adherence decreased (r= - 0.22, P This study showed that more than two-thirds of heart disease patients had low medication adherence. The most common causes were missed medication and irregular travelling-related medication intake. Performing some strategies for solving this issue is recommended. Keywords: Medication adherence; Antihypertensive agents; Heart diseases.