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	Institution: STANFORD Univ Med Center  | My Account | E-mail Alerts | Access Rights | Sign In Vol. 9 No. 10, November 2000   Archives  •  Online Features Special Article  This Article  • Full text  • PDF  • Send to a friend  • Save in My Folder  • Save to citation manager  • Permissions  Citing Articles  • Citation map  • Citing articles on HighWire  • Citing articles on Web of Science (37)  • Contact me when this article is cited  Related Content  • Similar articles in this journal  Topic Collections  • Drug Therapy  • Adherence  • Nutritional and Metabolic Disorders  • Lipids and Lipid Disorders  • Treatment Adherence  • Alert me on articles by topic Enhancing Drug Compliance in Lipid-Lowering Treatment Judith H. LaRosa, PhD; John C. LaRosa, MD Arch Fam Med. 2000;9:1169-1175. Hyperlipidemia and the atherosclerotic conditions that result from it are well recognized as major contributors to coronary heart disease (CHD). Fortunately, several large-scale clinical trials have shown that there are effective treatments that can substantially lower atherogenic lipid levels and thereby reduce the risk of CHD mortality and morbidity. However, duplication of these dramatic trial results can be negatively affected in "real life" clinical practice by an important issue: compliance. No medications will work if patients do not take them. Unfortunately, patients who need lipid-lowering therapy are likely to need it long-term, perhaps for a lifetime. Yet, many do not adhere to the prescribed medication regimen. This article reviews some major studies of compliance for lipid-lowering drugs. The reasons why patients do not take them as prescribed vary: poor education, lack of understanding, cost, provider indifference, and others. Achieving compliance requires a multifaceted approach. It can be enhanced by encouraging patients to talk openly about their medication habits and by convincing them of the long-term benefits of reaching and maintaining target low-density lipoprotein cholesterol levels. Although more studies focusing on compliance specifically regarding CHD are needed, the current literature does provide some guidance. From the Departments of Preventive Medicine and Community Health (Dr J. H. LaRosa) and Medicine (Dr J. C. LaRosa), State University of New York Health Science Center at Brooklyn. THIS ARTICLE HAS BEEN CITED BY OTHER ARTICLES The safety and tolerability of atorvastatin 10 mg in the Collaborative Atorvastatin Diabetes Study (CARDS) Newman et al. Diabetes and Vascular Disease Research 2008;5:177-183. ABSTRACT   Beyond Established and Novel Risk Factors: Lifestyle Risk Factors for Cardiovascular Disease Mozaffarian et al. Circulation 2008;117:3031-3038. FULL TEXT   Toward 'Pain-Free' Statin Prescribing: Clinical Algorithm for Diagnosis and Management of Myalgia Jacobson Mayo Clin Proc. 2008;83:687-700. ABSTRACT | FULL TEXT   Medication Adherence Following Coronary Artery Bypass Graft Surgery: Assessment of Beliefs and Attitudes Khanderia et al. The Annals of Pharmacotherapy 2008;42:192-199. ABSTRACT | FULL TEXT   Use of pictorial aids in medication instructions: A review of the literature Katz et al. Am J Health Syst Pharm 2006;63:2391-2397. ABSTRACT | FULL TEXT   AUDIT study. Evidence of global undertreatment of dyslipidaemia in patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus Leiter et al. British Journal of Diabetes & Vascular Disease 2006;6:31-40. ABSTRACT   Population impact of stricter adherence to recommendations for pharmacological and lifestyle interventions over one year in patients with coronary heart disease Gemmell et al. J. Epidemiol. Community Health 2005;59:1041-1046. ABSTRACT | FULL TEXT   Association between short-term effectiveness of statins and long-term adherence to lipid-lowering therapy Benner et al. Am J Health Syst Pharm 2005;62:1468-1475. ABSTRACT | FULL TEXT   Adherence to Statin Therapy and LDL Cholesterol Goal Attainment by Patients With Diabetes and Dyslipidemia Parris et al. Diabetes Care 2005;28:595-599. ABSTRACT | FULL TEXT   Assessing adherence to statin therapy using patient report, pill count, and an electronic monitoring device Cheng et al. Am J Health Syst Pharm 2005;62:411-415. FULL TEXT   Reducing the Risk of Coronary Heart Disease via Lipid Reduction Spratt JAOA: Journal of the American Osteopathic Association 2004;104:9S-13S. ABSTRACT | FULL TEXT   Benefits of Individualized Counseling by the Pharmacist on the Treatment Outcomes of Hyperlipidemia in Hong Kong Lee et al. J Clin Pharmacol 2004;44:632-639. ABSTRACT | FULL TEXT   Adherence to statin treatment and readmission of patients after myocardial infarction: a six year follow up study Wei et al. Heart 2002;88:229-233. ABSTRACT | FULL TEXT   HOME | CURRENT ISSUE | PAST ISSUES | TOPIC COLLECTIONS | CME | PHYSICIAN JOBS | HELP CONDITIONS OF USE | PRIVACY POLICY | CONTACT US | SITE MAP   © 2000 American Medical Association. All Rights Reserved.