OBJECTIVES:

Cardiovascular disease, especially coronary disease, represents one of the main causes of morbidity and mortality. The objective was to determine the drug prescription profile for primary cardiovascular prevention prior to a first acute coronary syndrome event in a group of colombian patients.

METHODS

: Cross-sectional study of patients diagnosed with a first acute coronary syndrome between 2015 and 2016. The cardiovascular risk score prior to the event was calculated, and the need for the use of statins and aspirin in primary prevention was defined according to the recommendations of clinical practice guidelines. Sociodemographic, clinical and pharmacological variables were evaluated.

RESULTS

: We reviewed the clinical records of 322 patients with a mean age of 61.9±10.8 years, and 77.3% (n=249) were men. The most frequent comorbidities were dyslipidemia (n=207, 64.3%), arterial hypertension (n=202, 62.7%) and diabetes mellitus (n=97, 30.1%); 22.0% of the patients were obese, and 33.5% were smokers. The median 10-year risk according to the Framingham risk score adjusted for Colombia was 21.4%, and it was 16.3% according to the American Heart Association. There were 179 patients (84.8%) who needed statins (175 of high intensity, 97.8%), and 88 (27.3%) required aspirin as a primary prevention; however, 56 of these patients (31.3%) did not receive any statins, 127 (72.6%) did not receive the high intensity statin they needed, and 38 (43.2%) lacked aspirin.

CONCLUSIONS

: Real-life data show that among a group of patients with high cardiovascular risk, a low proportion were receiving the statins and aspirin necessary to reduce their risk and finally suffered an acute coronary event.