Antihypertensive therapy used by elderly patients from Porto Alegre/RS, Brazil <b>[Abstract in English]</b>

Abstract

Aims: To describe the profile of drug utilization with cardiovascular action, especially antihypertensive drugs, in elderly living in Porto Alegre, RS, Brazil. Methods: A population-based cross-sectional, observational and exploratory study was carried out during 2006, about qualitative and quantitative drug utilization by elderly patients. The instrument used for data collection was a pharmacotherapeutic questionnaire. Results: From the 385 patients interviewed, 62.3% used cardiovascular drugs, of whom 86.3% used antihypertensive drugs. Among the patients who used monotherapy, 38.4% used angiotensin converting enzyme (ACE) inhibitors and 26.0% used beta blockers. From the 207 patients in monotherapy or combined therapy of 2 or more drugs, 59.4% used diuretics and 51.2% ACE inhibitors. Conclusions: Diuretics, ACE inhibitors and beta blockers were the most used antihypertensive drugs. Patients make mistakes on the therapy, which may be solved by adequate care. The prevalence of hypertension among the elderly patients shows that greater care is needed by health professionals, regarding the use of medications by the patients. KEY WORDS: AGED; HYPERTENSION; ANTIHYPERTENSIVE AGENTS/THERAPEUTIC USE.