ArticleTherapeutic advances in cardiovascular disease
Polypharmacy among older individuals with heart failure: trends between 2000 and 2017 in the province of Quebec, Canada.
Article in Therapeutic advances in cardiovascular disease. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 3 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.
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Who cites it
3 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it, 4 citations in OpenAlex.
- Cardiovascular risk associated with polypharmacy in heart failure: a systematic review and meta-analysis.ESC heart failure · 2026Pooled it
- Sex-specific medication trajectories in older adults newly diagnosed with diabetes.Exploratory research in clinical and social pharmacy · 2023Article
- Psychiatric and non-psychiatric polypharmacy among older adults with schizophrenia: Trends from a population-based study between 2000 and 2016.Frontiers in pharmacology · 2023Article
Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
5 authors at 2 institutions in 1 country.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
objectivePharmacological management of heart failure and comorbidities may result in polypharmacy, but there are few population-based studies that portray the use of medications over time. We aimed to describe the trends in polypharmacy and medication use in older adults with heart failure.
methodsWe performed a study including all adults >65 years with heart failure between 2000 and 2017 using health administrative databases in Quebec, Canada. Medication use was ascertained by the presence of at least one claim in each year. We defined three levels of polypharmacy: ⩾10, ⩾15 and ⩾20 different medications/year, and evaluated the use of guideline-recommended and potentially inappropriate medications. We calculated age- and sex-standardized proportions of users each year.
resultsThe use of ⩾10, ⩾15 and ⩾20 medications increased from 62.2%, 30.6% and 12.2% in 2000 to 71.9%, 43.9% and 22.7%, respectively, in 2017. The combination of β-blocker and angiotensin-converting enzyme inhibitor (ACEI)/angiotensin II receptor blocker (ARB) was used by 30.4% of individuals in 2000 and 45.5% in 2017. ACEI/ARB users decreased from 65.8% in 2000 to 62.1% in 2017. Potentially inappropriate medication use decreased over time.
conclusionPolypharmacy is significant among older adults with heart failure. Implications of such medication burden should be investigated.
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