Schizophrenia and coronary artery disease

Author Department

Psychiatry

Document Type

Article, Peer-reviewed

Publication Date

4-2015

Abstract

The prevalence of schizophrenia, a chronic and debilitating disease, is increasing nationally. Although suicide and high-risk behaviors contribute to the mortality of people with schizophrenia, the leading cause of death in this vulnerable patient population is coronary artery disease. Unfortunately, schizophrenic patients are not receiving adequate medical treatment to prevent risk factor progression to metabolic syndrome and CAD, and if they do develop CAD they are undertreated and receive poor followup care. Initiatives are needed to ensure that the burden of CAD in schizophrenic patients is controlled and does not continue to rise. These initiatives include ongoing monitoring for risk factors, improved communication between psychiatrists and physicians, and community outreach support. A current approach to CAD monitoring in a Canadian inpatient psychiatric ward involves obtaining baseline values for fasting blood glucose and other measurements when a patient is admitted, and then referring the patient to a physician if three of the measurements are outside normal limits.

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