Prescription Survey on Cardiovascular Disease and Its Treatment Pattern in Dhaka Division

Abstract

Cardiovascular medications refer to a wide variety of prescription drugs utilized to manage heart disease. This is a complex category of drugs, as many of them can be used to treat multiple heart conditions. This study is driven across the Dhaka division, at different hospitals. It has taken almost 4 months (Jan 15- April 20, 2023). This survey mainly shows the causes of cardiovascular diseases on the basis of drugs are using to treat these diseases. Out of 700 prescriptions, 673 are exactly for cardiovascular disease and the remaining 27 are slightly related to these. Mainly male patients are more in number than females and the ratio is 60:40. Among cardiovascular diseases the maximum number of patients who have been suffering from Ischemic stroke (Recent & Pre) which is (34%). On the other hand, only (1%) of people have been suffering from Acute myeloid leukemia. Mainly 40-59 ages of people are suffering the most from cardiovascular diseases. In this segment, a maximum of 364 prescriptions were identified, representing the most commonly used drugs or percentages for treating different diseases. The drugs used in descending order of frequency were: lipid-lowering drugs, organic nitrates, beta-blockers, antiplatelets, ACE inhibitors, calcium channel blockers, antihypertensive drugs, angiotensin II receptor enzyme inhibitors, vinpocetine, and diuretics. The number of prescriptions for each drug was 225, 63, 170, 163, 4, 2, 27, 140, 10, 168, 17, and 35, respectively. The predominant use of these drugs indicates a high prevalence of cardiovascular disease caused by high cholesterol. Despite belonging to different generic groups, these therapeutic agents are commonly used in various prescriptions. For instance, clopidogrel is the most widely used antiplatelet drug (53%), bisoprolol is the most commonly used beta-blocker (38%), amlodipine is the most widely used calcium channel blocker (53%), atorvastatin is the most widely used lipid-lowering drug (82%), and spironolactone and frusemide are commonly used as loop and potassium-sparing diuretics, with utilization rates of (89%) and (94%), respectively. Telmisartan is the most commonly used angiotensin II receptor enzyme antagonist, with a utilization rate of (51%.) The study could offer recommendations for enhancing the appropriate usage of cardiovascular medications, as well as introduce a novel statistical technique to efficiently manage cardiovascular diseases in Bangladesh.