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The purpose of the study was to investigate the adherence to secondary prevention medications among patients with coronary heart disease and identify factors associated with it. Materials and methods. We examined 40 patients diagnosed with coronary heart disease of more than 50 years old, who were prescribed with optimal medication for 1 year during hospitalization. Patients` adherence was defined according to MMS-8 Morisky values for secondary prevention medications prescribed by doctors. Also, questionnaires about individual reasons of non-compliance and for individual patient`s opinion about importance and usefulness of knowledge according to risk factors of the increase of cardiovascular mortality were designed and proposed to the patients. Simple descriptive statistics were used to elucidate the characteristics of the patient population and results from individual adherence tools. Final score was analyzed and correlation between patients’ data and level of adherence to prescribed treatment were identified. A correlation matrix (using Spearman’s coefficient) was reviewed for any evidence of collinearity. Results and discussion. Our study demonstrated higher level of non-adherence with secondary prevention medications in patients with coronary heart disease (60.0%). This fact can be explained by the socioeconomic reasons, less informative strategies from the medical staff to the patients. Severe regress of adherence was demonstrated after discharge from the hospital due to subjective improvement of the patients` condition with absence of supervision by out-patient specialists. Demographic characteristics of the patients suggested that some non-modified factors can affect compliance with the prescribed treatment. Better adherence was demonstrated by female married patients with higher educational level, with family history about cardiovascular death. Also, too much prescribed medications with difficult regime of usage with non-adequate out-patient supervision may significantly decrease adherence causing development of complications which may lead to re-hospitalizations and cardiovascular death. Our investigation demonstrated also non-complete information of the patients about lifestyle and medical risk factors of the cardiovascular mortality increase. Conclusion. The results of our study can provide useful practical information on the prevalence and severity of non-adherence among patients with coronary heart disease. Analysis of the factors influencing the adherence demonstrated the main reasons from patients and healthcare professionals affecting the level of compliance with the prescribed treatment. The step towards improving adherence can be initiated by the healthcare professional to overcome the patient's concerns about the prescribed medication. It is important to continue personal monitoring of patients by healthcare professionals in the form of regular inspections of intentional and unintentional non-adherence, including factors and reasons that may change and lead to such behavior

The article identifies the features of the pathology of the gastrointestinal tract in patients with gastroesophageal reflux disease on the background of hypothyroidism. The frequency of gastroesophageal reflux disease and the severity of this disease increase with age and the presence of comorbid pathology. In the elderly, the frequency of the typical esophageal manifestations decreases, and the erosive esophagitis with atypical symptoms is more common. The growing number of cases of combined thyroid dysfunction with gastropathology requires in-depth study of the reasons for the relationship between these processes. Pathological changes in the gastrointestinal tract in these patients make their condition severer, contributing to the development and progression of metabolic disorders. An important aggravating effect on the regulatory mechanisms of esophageal kinetics has a pathological functioning of the thyroid gland on the background of iodine deficiency. Results and discussion. In patients with gastroesophageal reflux disease with hypothyroidism, all changes in gastric and duodenal function are associated with a decrease in the acid-forming function of the gastric mucosa, due to its atrophy, decreased tone and contractility of the stomach. This in turn leads to a slowing of gastric and duodenal evacuation, dysfunction of the closing capacity of the cardia and, as a consequence, the development of duodenogastroesophageal reflux. The esophageal contents are not so pronounced, so patients with non-erosive forms of esophagitis predominate (46.2%) against 16% of patients in the second group (patients with gastroesophageal reflux disease). At the same time, erosive forms predominate among patients in the control group with predominant acid reflux. It should be noted that there is a clear relationship between the frequency of erosive changes in the esophageal mucosa and the duration of the disease. Thus, among patients of the main group with a 5-year history of the disease, the number of erosive forms of gastroesophageal reflux disease was minimal. The number of erosive changes in the esophageal mucosa increased sharply in patients with a 10-year history and reached its maximum after 15 years from the onset of the disease. Conclusion. The delay in gastric evacuation is more pronounced in patients with gastroesophageal reflux disease on the background of hypothyroidism. It can be explained by a decrease in gastric motility and the presence of duodenostasis. The slowing of gastric evacuation was more pronounced in patients with gastroesophageal reflux disease on the background of reduced thyroid function. In patients with gastroesophageal reflux disease on the background of hypothyroidism there is an alkaline duodenogastroesophageal reflux as a consequence of reduced acid-forming function of the gastric mucosa and reduced contractility of the stomach and duodenum

Cardiac autonomic neuropathy (CAN) is a very common diabetes-related complication that has a major effect on CVD, mortality and morbidity in patients with DM. Careful and timely testing of CAN with easy standard bedside tests in patients with DM 1 and 2 is critically important for early diagnoses and prophylaxes of further CV complications. Aim of the study was to evaluate the CAN characteristics in DM 1 versus DM 2 patients and to identify the relationship between CAN and typical diabetic complications. Materials and methods. A descriptive and comparative cross-sectional study was developed with 75 patients with Diabetes Mellitus (DM 1 — 30 patients, DM 2 — 45 patients) who were hospitalized to the endocrinology department for treatment. All patients were investigated routinely – complains, anamnestic data, objective examination, lab and instrumental examination. For defining of CAN next five classical tests were done (cardiac autonomic reflex testing (CART)): Evaluating of the Resting tachycardia; Heart rate response to deep breathing; Valsalva maneuver; Systolic blood pressure response to standing; Diastolic blood pressure response to sustained handgrip. Results and discussions. Absence of CAN, according to proposed score, was defined in those patients without clinical features of CVD. 46.8% of all patients presented with early and definitive CAN, while the higher prevalence of definitive CAN was diagnosed in DM 2 patients. Severe CAN was confirmed more often in DM 2 patients also. Coexistence of CAN and peripheral neuropathy was higher in patients with DM 1 than in DM 2 patients. Among DM 1 patients with CAN only 11.8% persons had not sensory peripheral neuropathy, while 29.7% DM 2 patients with CAN, were free of sensory peripheral neuropathy. Positive correlations were found between the duration of the DM and manifestations of CAN in patients with DM II, the development of sensory polyneuropathy, retinopathy and CAN in patients with DM I, and this diabetic complication preceded the clinical manifestations of peripheral neuropathy. Thus, the proposed set of diagnostic measures should be obviously and easily used for the timely diagnosis of CAN in diabetic patients, especially in asymptomatic cases, and objectively assessing the effectiveness of the therapy.

The peculiarities of glucocorticoid adrenal function in patients with coronary artery disease complicated by concomitant anemia and diabetes mellitus type 2 are discussed in the article. It was established that the level of plasma cortisol depended on the concomitant anemic syndrome severity. The inclusion of telmisartan to the scheme of complex treatment of the patients resulted in normalization of plasma cortisol level, which proved the reduction of stress-limited systems tension on the background of the proposed treatment regimen.