Adherence to cardiovascular medications: lessons learned and future directions.

Approximately 50% of patients with cardiovascular disease and/or its major risk factors have poor adherence to their prescribed medications. Finding novel methods to help patients improve their adherence to existing evidence-based cardiovascular drug therapies has enormous potential to improve health outcomes while potentially reducing health care costs. The goal of this report is to provide a review of the current understanding of adherence to cardiovascular medications from the point of view of prescribing clinicians and cardiovascular researchers. Key topics addressed include: (1) definitions of medication adherence; (2) prevalence and impact of non-adherence; (3) methods for assessing medication adherence; 4) reasons for poor adherence; and 5) approaches to improving adherence to cardiovascular medications. For each of these topics, the report seeks to identify important gaps in knowledge and opportunities for advancing the field of cardiovascular adherence research.