Assessment of Medication Compliance and Follow-Up Clinic Attendance Among Patients With Cardiovascular Diseases in the Jazan Region.

BACKGROUND AND AIM

Cardiovascular diseases are common causes of mortality in Saudi Arabia and the world. This study aims to assess medication compliance and regularity of follow-up for cardiovascular patients in the Jazan region.

METHODOLOGY

An analytical cross-sectional approach was used to target all registered cardiovascular patients attending the cardio clinic in a Jazan region hospital. Data were collected using an interview questionnaire developed by the researchers with the help of experts. The questionnaire included the patients' sociodemographic data, clinical characteristics, disease-related data, drugs, and appointments.

RESULTS

The study included 259 patients diagnosed with cardiac disease. About 53.7% of the patients were males. All the cases had the disease for one year or more. About 56% of the patients had no difficulty remembering their medications, while 44% had problems remembering to take them. More than half of the patients had good medication adherence, and 79.6% had good appointment adherence. Only 20.4% of patients had a poor adherence rate.

CONCLUSION AND RECOMMENDATIONS

The adherence rate for the patients' medication and appointments was satisfactory due to high patient awareness. On the other hand, poor adherence was related more to non-Saudi patients.