Fewer than half of all stroke patients receive prescriptions for statins when they leave the hospital. The American Heart Association recommended the cholesterol lowering drug for reducing the risk of another stroke. But the group’s latest study found just 49-percent receive those medications.
For stroke patients who do take statins, the American Heart Association studied the risk of discontinuing those medications. Researchers found stopping the drugs three to six months after a stroke increased the risk of a second stroke within a year by 42-percent.
A new study showed that patients are getting more pain medications than they need. Research at Johns Hopkins found more than two thirds of patients do not use up their opioid prescriptions after surgery, but they still hold on to the leftovers, rather than dispose of them as recommended.
Sources:
1 – Journal of the American Heart Association
2 – Journal of the American Heart Association
3 – JAMA Surgery
