Nitroglycerin as an indicator for the presence of coronary heart disease

Objective: To evaluate the value of sublingual nitroglycerin on a patient's medication profile as an indicator to aid pharmacists in the identification of patients with coronary heart disease. Design: Retrospective chart review. Setting: 14 long term care institutions in Edmonton, Alta. Patients: 274 patients who had been prescribed sublingual nitroglycerin. Interventions: None. Main Results: The positive predictive value of sublingual nitroglycerin prescription in the identification of patients with coronary heart disease was 93.4%. Conclusions: In our patient population, the presence of sublingual nitroglycerin on a medication profile was demonstrated to have a high positive predictive value for the presence of coronary heart disease, and therefore may be a helpful tool for pharmacists to use in the identification of patients with the disease for the purposes of instituting preventive measures.