Table 3.
Adherence and side effects among treated secondary prevention patients
| Patient survey (treated patients) | N = 1475 |
|---|---|
| n (%) | |
| How regularly do you take your cholesterol-lowering medication (i.e., exactly as prescribed by your doctor) | |
| Always | 1189 (80.6) |
| Somewhat regularly | 212 (14.4) |
| Somewhat unregularly | 40 (2.7) |
| Very unregularly | 34 (2.3) |
| How important are your medications for treating LDL cholesterol to you compared to other medications you take? | |
| Comparably important | 1029 (69.8) |
| More important | 247 (16.8) |
| Less important | 152 (10.3) |
| Not important at all | 12 (0.8) |
| I do not take any other medications | 35 (2.4) |
| Have you experienced any side effects due to your lipid-lowering medication? | |
| No | 800 (54.2) |
| Yes | 675 (45.8) |
| If yes, what side effects did you experience? | (N’ = 675) |
| Muscular pains/muscle complaints | 575 (85.2) |
| Gastrointestinal complaints | 191 (28.3) |
| Vertigo | 189 (28.0) |
| Headache | 124 (18.4) |
| Others | 150 (22.2) |
| I have stopped at least one drug for cholesterol reduction | 221 (15.0) |
| Did you stop your discontinued medications to lower LDL cholesterol on your own or on your doctor’s advice? | (N’ = 221) |
| On doctor’s advice | 141 (63.8) |
| On my own | 76 (34.4) |
| I have never taken medication to lower cholesterol levels | 4 (1.8) |
| Why did you stop taking these medications? | (N’ = 217) |
| Side effects | 180 (83.0) |
| Lack of improvement | 44 (20.3) |
| Lack of trust in the doctor/medication | 9 (4.2) |
| Others | 31 (14.3) |
| Uncertain | 6 (2.8) |