29/09/2026
World Heart Day 💙 What if safer prescribing started before the first prescription?
When discussing cardiovascular health, the focus is often on preventing disease, identifying risk factors, and encouraging healthy lifestyles. Another aspect of prevention is avoiding medication-related problems before they occur.
Pharmacogenetic information is often used to help explain why a medication did not work as expected or why a patient experienced adverse effects. However, its value may be greatest when it is available before treatment begins.
Many commonly used cardiovascular medications are affected by genetic variation. Having this information available in advance can support medication selection and dosing decisions from the start and help reduce the need for trial-and-error prescribing.
On World Heart Day, it is worth considering prevention from a broader perspective: not only preventing cardiovascular disease itself, but also supporting safer and more individualized medication use through better-informed prescribing decisions.
