Coordinating Medications for Women With Arrhythmia
Lindsey Valenzuela, PharmD, discusses the importance of preventing drug interactions and improving coordination for women with arrhythmia and chronic disease.
To approach medication management in women with arrhythmia and multiple comorbidities, pharmacists and care teams must avoid fragmented care. There is a correlation between chronic diseases, such as diabetes, chronic kidney disease, obesity, and COPD, and arrhythmias.
Many of those antiarrhythmics interact with the medications that we use to treat antihypertensives, medications for diabetes, immunosuppressants.
This correlation makes polypharmacy a significant concern, complicating the issue of chronic disease. As a result, it is essential to identify who in the population might benefit from early surveillance, given the impact of chronic disease, to utilize technologies earlier.
Author's summary: Pharmacists must prevent drug interactions in women with arrhythmia.
- Chronic diseases: diabetes, chronic kidney disease, obesity, COPD
- Concerns: polypharmacy, drug interactions, fragmented care