Pharmacotherapy

Heart failure patients often prescribed high-risk medications

January 30, 2025

Over one-seventh of U.S. adults with heart failure (HF) are prescribed medications that could exacerbate their condition. Carefully reviewing and optimizing medication regimens can mitigate HF exacerbations and improve patient outcomes.

Study details: This cross-sectional study analyzed data from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES) from 2011 to March 2020, focusing on U.S. adults with self-reported HF. Medications known to exacerbate HF were identified through pill bottle reviews and categorized based on HF guidelines. Weighted estimates were used to calculate prevalence, and multivariable logistic regression models assessed the odds of high-risk medication use by sex and race/ethnicity.

Results: Among 687 participants, representing 5.2 million U.S. adults with HF, 14.5% were prescribed at least one medication known to exacerbate HF. The most common medications were diltiazem, meloxicam, and ibuprofen. There were no significant differences in medication use by sex or race/ethnicity. Of these medications, 21.7% had level A evidence warning against use, and 78.3% had level B evidence.

Source:

Zheutlin AR, et al. (2025, January 23). Pharmacotherapy. Prevalence of Prescription Medication Use That Can Exacerbate Heart Failure Among US Adults With Heart Failure. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/39831652/