Tolerability and Compliance Among Patients using Long Acting Organic Nitrates

Abstract

Purpose: The aim of this project is to examine the tolerability of patients to the various possible side effects of organic nitrate and how that would affect their compliance. Methods: A PubMed search of the literature was conducted using the terms nitrates tolerability, nitrates side effects, nitrate compliance. Data for this study was collected from a questionnaire that was distributed to 75 patients. Results: The results showed that 69% of patients have experienced side effects when they started using organic nitrates. After continued use, the incidence of side effects decreased to 19 %. The most common side effect was reported to be headache which occurred in the first eight hours of using medication almost as one headache attack daily. Conclusion: Organic nitrates have a good tolerability and compliance among patients, it is clear that the incidence of nitrate side effects especially headache decrease with continued use which might be attributed to the tolerance that might develop with the use of nitrates. Starting nitrates in low doses and leaving a daily free interval have been reported to be associated with reduced frequency and severity of headache, and enhanced their clinical efficacy.