[Prevention of thromboembolic disease in patients with heart disease]

To evaluate the adequacy to thromboembolic disease prophylaxis protocol in patients with heart disease.

Cross-sectional study.

Patients older than 14 years affected of heart disease in a semi-urban health primary-care clinic with a population of 10,610 persons and 5582 clinical records.

Data about age, sex, cardiovascular risk factors, heart disease, prophylactic treatment and its adequacy to the protocol of the "thromboembolic disease commission" of the reference hospital were analysed.

Age 67 +/- 13 years (mean +/- SD). Cardiovascular risk factors: hypertension 40%, diabetes 33%, dyslipemia 15%, smoking 21%. Heart disease: ischemic cardiopathy 48%, atrial fibrillation 15%, valvulopathy 19%, dilated myocardiopathy 4% and other 14%. In 20% of cases had two different affections (80% with atrial fibrillation). Prophylactic therapy: 52% of patients were under prophylactic treatment (35% antiaggregation, 18% anticoagulation). Among antiaggregants, drugs used were acetylsalicylic acid 73.5%, triflusal 14.7%, dipyridamole, 8.8% and ticlopidine 3%. In 53% of people without prophylactic treatment antiaggregation criteria were present. 15% of patient under antiaggregation therapy did not meet antiaggregation criteria, and 6% fulfilled anticoagulation criteria. 67% treatments accorded the reference protocol, without significant differences between kind of heart disease or sex. The only statistically significant difference was found in age: 46% of patients older than 80 year were correctly treated, in front 75% adequacy in younger people.

Prophylactic antithrombotic therapy was according the reference protocol in 67% of cases. In older patients, with greater risk of thromboembolic disease, the adequacy is worse.