The Effect of Monthly Medication on Mortality After a Coronary Event

The aim of this study was to analyze how the consumption of medication over time affects the survival rate in patients with a coronary event and whether there is a gender difference.

The study included 804 patients admitted to 4 hospitals with a coronary event during 2007. Monitoring after coronary event was carried out during 2007 and every 6 months in the subsequent 2 years (2008 and 2009) throughout the review of the clinical history of the patient. The main outcome was the analysis of mortality after the coronary event. Kaplan-Meier survival curves were plotted to calculate the time to death, comparing women versus men for 4 medication groups: aspirin, statins, β-blockers, and angiotensin-converting enzyme inhibitors/angiotensin receptor blockers (ACEIs/ARBs). A Cox regression model was used for the final mortality analysis.

During the follow-up time, 172 deaths were assessed. Each month of treatment with aspirin, statins, β-blockers, or ACEI/ARB was associated with a decrease in mortality between 13.0% and 0.5% (univariate analysis). The Kaplan-Meier method revealed a significant reduction in mortality after the coronary event for each month of treatment with aspirin (men), statins (men), and β-blockers (both men and women). No significant effect in survival was observed in either gender with ACEI/ARB treatment. The final multivariable model (Cox regression) showed that the taking of aspirin, statins, β-blockers, or ACEI/ARB is able to reduce mortality rates up to 7.0% (aspirin) throughout each month of treatment after a coronary event without any influence of gender.

Aspirin, statins, β-blockers, and ACEI/ARB revealed a protective character with each month of treatment throughout the follow-up period, in terms of risk reduction of death. Aspirin and statins showed the maximum benefit, followed by ACEI/ARB and β-blockers.