Stroke Belt: Less Than Half of Stroke Patients Prescribed Recommended Medication
UAB’s REGARDS study finds that disparities exist within men and older patients’ being prescribed stroke-preventing medication in the southeastern United States.
Less than half of stroke patients discharged from the hospital received a prescription for cholesterol-lowering medication called statins, and the likelihood of a prescription varied by patients’ geographic location, sex, age and race, according to new research from the University of Alabama at Birmingham REasons for Geographic and Racial Differences in Stroke Study.
“All ischemic, or non-bleeding, stroke survivors should be evaluated to determine whether they could benefit from a statin, regardless of the patient’s age, race, sex or geographic residence,” said study lead author Karen Albright, Ph.D., D.O., recent doctoral graduate of the UAB School of Public Health Department of Epidemiology. “In patients hospitalized for ischemic stroke, opportunities exist to improve statin prescribing upon discharge.”
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