Patients with diabetes show poor adherence therapy for heart disease

Adherence to add-on therapies for heart disease dropped by half within one year for patients new to diabetes with heart disease, increasing risks for heart attacks or strokes

This study on diabetes looked at members newly diagnosed with diabetes who also had pre-existing cardiovascular disease (ASCVD). Three separate antihyperglycemic drug classes are recommended as add-on therapy for people with diabetes who also have ASCVD.

• Glucagon like peptide-1 agonists (GLP-1)
• Sodium-glucose cotransporter-2 inhibitors (SGLT-2i
• Dipeptidyl peptidase-4 inhibitors (DPP-4i)

All these medications require long-term adherence to reduce complications from ASCVD. But for all the drug classes in the study, adherence dropped off by about half within a year. (Yet the drug manufacturers reported adherence of 90 percent in their clinical trials.)

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