Cardiac care and CAM

Cardiac specialists may need to take a more active role in asking and educating patients about complementary and alternative medicine (CAM). That’s the conclusion of researchers at the University of Toronto’s St. Michael’s Hospital in Ontario, Canada.

A study of 308 cardiac patients shows that 45 percent use some form of CAM. Among the CAM users, just 56 percent had communicated with their cardiac specialist about their CAM use. Meanwhile, 75 percent thought their general-care practitioner was aware of their CAM use. Of CAM users, 8.4 percent said their specialist had inquired about their CAM use, while 13 percent said their primary-care physician did so.

“Despite the fact that their physicians were unaware of their CAM use, many still did not plan on discussing it with their physician (44 percent with general-care physicians, 51 percent with specialists),” the researchers noted. “This data suggests a need for ongoing physician and patient education regarding CAM use. Cardiac specialists may need to take a more active role in asking and educating patients about CAM therapies.”