Table 1.
Baseline patient demographics and use of cardiovascular and non‐cardiovascular drugs during 12 months pre‐index, stratified by prescriber specialty
| Characteristic | Total (n = 12 082) | GP (n = 8253) | Cardiology (n = 3063) | Other (n = 766) | P‐value GP vs. cardiology |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Age, years, mean (SD) | 71.3 (12.0) | 72.8 (11.8) | 68.3 (11.4) | 67.1 (13.0) | <0.001 |
| Sex (%) | |||||
| Male | 54.0 | 51.3 | 62.0 | 52.0 | <0.0001 |
| Female | 25.8 | 28.4 | 20.9 | 17.6 | <0.0001 |
| Unknown | 20.2 | 20.4 | 17.2 | 30.2 | <0.0001 |
| CV medication use pre‐index (%) | |||||
| ACEI | 56.1 | 54.8 | 59.7 | 55.1 | <0.0001 |
| ARB | 37.0 | 36.6 | 37.0 | 41.8 | 0.6458 |
| BB | 89.7 | 88.7 | 91.7 | 91.5 | <0.0001 |
| MRA | 64.1 | 60.5 | 71.7 | 72.8 | <0.0001 |
| Diuretics (excluding MRAs) | 86.4 | 87.1 | 84.6 | 85.9 | <0.0001 |
| Oral diuretics (including MRAs) | 93.3 | 92.7 | 94.6 | 94.4 | <0.0001 |
| Potassium sparing | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 1.000 |
| Loop diuretics | 73.5 | 73.7 | 73.2 | 72.3 | 0.5297 |
| Thiazides | 14.4 | 15.4 | 11.7 | 15.1 | <0.0001 |
| Selective nephron blockadea | 9.6 | 10.3 | 7.9 | 9.0 | <0.0001 |
| Vitamin K antagonists | 31.3 | 31.2 | 31.5 | 30.7 | 0.7201 |
| Antiplatelet medications | 33.7 | 34.2 | 32.4 | 33.7 | 0.0357 |
| Lipid‐lowering drugs | 61.8 | 60.2 | 65.2 | 64.2 | <0.0001 |
| Non‐CV medication use pre‐index (%) | |||||
| Glucose‐lowering drugs | 34.8 | 35.4 | 33.5 | 32.6 | 0.0279 |
| Insulin | 19.2 | 19.3 | 18.4 | 20.8 | 0.2069 |
| Dipeptidyl peptidase‐4 inhibitors | 14.0 | 14.7 | 12.3 | 12.8 | 0.0011 |
| SGLT2 | 2.0 | 2.0 | 1.8 | 2.9 | 0.4924 |
| Other glucose‐lowering drugs | 17.3 | 17.2 | 18.2 | 14.9 | 0.2230 |
| Antidepressants | 15.7 | 17.2 | 12.0 | 13.7 | <0.0001 |
| NSAIDs | 28.5 | 29.8 | 25.9 | 24.8 | <0.0001 |
| Gout treatments | 35.5 | 35.5 | 34.7 | 39.7 | 0.3548 |
| COPD treatment | 29.6 | 31.2 | 25.4 | 28.7 | <0.0001 |
| CV medication naïve (%) | |||||
| ACEI/ARB | 6.3 | 7.3 | 4.0 | 4.4 | <0.0001 |
| BB | 6.8 | 7.8 | 4.5 | 5.1 | <0.0001 |
| MRA | 28.9 | 32.5 | 21.0 | 21.8 | <0.0001 |
ACEI, angiotensin‐converting enzyme inhibitor; ARB, angiotensin receptor blocker; BB, beta‐blocker; COPD, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease; CV, cardiovascular; GP, general practice; MRA, mineralocorticoid receptor antagonist; NSAID, non‐steroidal anti‐inflammatory drug; SD, standard deviation; SGLT2, sodium–glucose co‐transporter‐2.
a
Selective nephron blockade defined as a prescription of both a loop diuretic and a thiazide on the same day.