Complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) use patterns and disclosure to physicians in acute coronary syndromes patients

This study assessed the frequency and types of CAM therapies used by patients hospitalized with acute coronary syndromes for general health purposes and cardiac reasons. We profiled CAM users including gender differences and degree of disclosure with treating physicians'. Data collection occurred via semi-structured interview and included demographics, past medical history, CAM use, physician visits, and patient-physician communications. Eight hundred and forty-six patients were screened for eligibility with 223 patients meeting eligibility criteria and completing data collection. Sixty-three percent of this sample used at least one CAM therapy for general health purposes in the year prior to the index hospitalization. Only 11.7% of patients reported using CAM for cardiac specific reasons. Women were more likely to use CAM relative to men and also tended to use a greater number of CAM therapies. More than one third (35.9%) of the patients that used CAM therapies did not inform their physician. Only a small fraction of CAM use was specific to cardiovascular health. These data suggest that a significant portion of patients do not report CAM use to their physicians and physicians seldom ask.