Taking medication ‘just like that’

Millions of people could be putting their lives in danger by not taking their medicines as prescribed; together with you, we want to remind people how vital heart medicines are.

Resources for patients

• People struggling with their prescriptions can phone our heart nurses for support and information on 0300 333 1 333.
• Patients who have trouble establishing a routine or remembering their medication can sign up for three weeks of text reminders and six weeks of email reminders.
• Your patients can also view our advice on taking medication.

Resources for health care professionals

Support the campaign in your workplace - download a poster or get an A3 copy delivered to you for free by calling 0870 600 6566 or emailing orderline@bhf.org.uk quoting Tommy.

GP surgeries

GPs are rightly a well recognised and respected source for medication information, with our survey revealing that the vast majority of people know they can talk to their doctor about medication concerns.

Practice nurses are also a trusted source of information for patients who often feel they can be more honest with them about their medication concerns.

Posters: Download  | Order a general medications poster
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Pharmacies

Pharmacists are right in the heart of the community and are in a unique position to speak to patients that other healthcare professionals rarely see. We hope all pharmacists will spread the word by asking patients how they’re getting on with their medication and letting them know that there are always options available.

Download a poster for your Pharmacy | Order a general medications poster
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Other healthcare settings

All healthcare professionals form part of the wider-team caring for patients along their heart healthcare pathway – together we can help patients understand the importance of their medication and the options available to them.

Order a general medications poster
Presentations: Standard screen | Widescreen | Super widescreen

 

More about the campaign

Tommy Cooper famously and tragically died on stage from a heart attack. We hope his catchphrase ‘just like that’ will prevent others suffering the same fate.

For the campaign we surveyed 2,125 adults across the UK through YouGov and conducted our own survey of over 1,000 heart disease, high cholesterol and high blood pressure patients.

Key facts

• 1 in 3 high cholesterol patients fail to take their medication properly
• 1 in 4 high blood pressure patients fail to take their medication properly
• Nearly a quarter (24%) of people with high cholesterol don’t realise it significantly increases their risk of heart disease
• Nearly a third (29%) of people with high blood pressure were unaware of the link with heart disease
• High cholesterol triples your risk of having a heart attack
• High blood pressure doubles your risk of dying from heart disease
• We estimate that 45% of heart attacks in Western Europe are caused by abnormal lipids including high cholesterol, while 22% are caused by high blood pressure.

Why do heart patients find taking medication difficult to do?

• Some people struggle because of busy lives and irregular shifts
• Others experience side effects which discourage them from taking their medication. We found 1 in 5 people wouldn’t tell their doctor if they’d stopped taking medication
• More have trouble seeing how their medication benefits them, especially those with risk factor conditions who have few or no symptoms
• Still more have trouble remembering and sticking to their routines.