Ensuring that patients receive full cardiac pharmacotherapy services: a pharmacist's call to arms.

While clinical trials have proven that use of certain cardiovascular drugs improves morbidity and mortality, these drugs are not widely used, they are by and large prescribed in suboptimal doses, and their benefit is further diminished by nonadherence. Pharmacists have the ability to improve the survival of patients with cardiovascular risks. This can only be accomplished through the efforts of the individual pharmacist and the further development of health-system management services. Pharmacists need to leverage their access to patients, their large patient base, and their knowledge of refill dates to improve patient care. Support and development of more pharmacist-directed anticoagulation, hyperlipidemia, and hypertension clinics are also needed.