Pharmacist led interventions could assist the prevention of cardiovascular disease.

According to new research, pharmacists can help to prevent cardiovascular disease in patients by performing physical assessments, patient education and medication reviews.

A team from the University of Birmingham researched a variety of medical literature to try and find out how effective pharmacists would be in the prevention of cardiovascular disease, and found 21 trials that had previously been conducted, with a total of 8,993 patients. They discovered that medication management and medication reviews were the most frequently used pharmacist led interventions among others including – patient education, medication counselling, physical assessment, lifestyle modification and assessing adherence.

Furthermore, the team identified that pharmacist led interventions helped patients follow their prescribed medication routine and made substantial reductions in their LDL cholesterol by an average of -15.19 mg/dl, systolic blood pressure by an average of -9.33 mmHg and Hemoglobin A1c, a measure of blood sugar levels by an average of -0.76%.

Research team lead from the University of Birmingham, Abdullah Alsheri, stated: “The evidence presented in this review provides an important message to health systems and policy makers regarding the effectiveness of general practice-based pharmacists’ interventions. The significant reductions in blood pressure, blood glucose, and blood cholesterol reported in this meta-analysis, if sustained in clinical practice, could have significant implications for managing hypertension, diabetes and dyslipidaemia that could prevent cardiovascular morbidity and mortality. This will benefit health organisations by providing cost effective care associated with greater control of patients’ conditions and their medications.”