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Half of the patients don’t take their pills
New report shows that Americans aren’t taking cholesterol serious, since about half of them don’t take their medicine.
About 30 percent of Americans should take medication that could be lowering their levels of ‘bad’ cholesterol (LDL) but, according to a new report issued by the CDC, half of them don’t take the medication. Figures show that Black and Latino people are more likely not to take the pills than the white population.
But it is not only about drugs – more than half of the population with high cholesterol is unwilling to make any changes in their lifestyle or their eating habits in order to lower their cholesterol and thus, the risk of heart disease.
CDC specialists argue that patients need to be educated through cholesterol management programs, regarding the risks of cholesterol-induced diseases. According to them, almost 800,000 people die every year in the U.S. from cardiovascular diseases, which makes one of every three deaths.
The report also brings some good news – it seems that the number of persons with high cholesterol decreased in the last seven years.
Doctors argue that one of the reasons why patients don’t take medicine for lowering their cholesterol levels is that they don’t take it serious. This might be because it doesn’t make them feel sick until a heart attack, stroke or heart failure.
Other reasons for not taking the drugs, detected by researchers are the cost of medication, worries regarding the side effects and the lack of education due to the poor communication between health care providers and patients.
Dr. Ileana Pina, cardiologist and chair of the cardiologic clinical council at the American Heart Association says that in poor neighborhoods where she’s been working, people often don’t have money for medication. The same happens to senior patients whose medication ends before their Social Security checks arrive.
The fear of side effects is also a real concern for patients, since some users have experienced cognitive impairment such as confusion and forgetfulness. Other side effects could include raised levels of blood sugar and even developing type 2 diabetes.
However, doctors claim these side effects shouldn’t make people drop their medication since they don’t appear to all the patients. As long as patients check their health constantly, there are small chances to develop some serious condition.
Image source: pixabay. com
