Pharmacist-Led Interventions Cut Cardiovascular Risk Factors

Pharmacist-led interventions in general practice can significantly reduce medical risk factors associated with cardiovascular events, according to a review published online in the British Journal of Clinical Pharmacology.

Abdullah A. Alshehri, from the University of Birmingham in the United Kingdom, and colleagues conducted a systematic literature review to identify randomized controlled trials (RCTs) assessing the effectiveness of pharmacist-led interventions delivered in general practice on reducing the medical risk factors of cardiovascular events.

The researchers included 21 RCTs (8,933 patients). Fourteen of these studies were conducted in patients with diabetes, seven in patients with hypertension, two involving dyslipidemia, and two with both hypertension and diabetes. Medication review and medication management were the two most frequently used interventions. The studies varied in quality. Pharmacist-led interventions were associated with statistically significant reductions in patients' systolic blood pressure (−9.33 mm Hg), hemoglobin A1c (−0.76 percent), and low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (−15.19 mg/dL). Practice-based pharmacists' interventions also had a positive impact on patient adherence to medications.

"These findings support the involvement of pharmacists as health care providers in managing patients with hypertension, diabetes, and dyslipidemia," the authors write.

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