Keeping Track / Developing a System

Keeping track of your prescribed medications can be challenging — especially if you're taking several different medicines. Writing things down will make managing your medications a lot easier. Use our printable medicine tracker to stay organized.

Lowering High Blood Pressure
By treating high blood pressure, you can help prevent a stroke, heart attack, heart failure or kidney failure. Our printable blood pressure tracker will help you monitor your blood pressure and record suggestions from your doctor.

Managing Cholesterol Levels
This printable chart will track your cholesterol at each of your medical appointments, along with the efforts you're making to manage your levels, to help you monitor your success.

Manage Everything Online
Heart360 is a one-stop, easy-to-use set of online tracking tools for medications, blood pressure, cholesterol, blood glucose, weight and physical activity.  Set goals and track your progress each time you enter your levels.  Print comprehensive reports to share with your healthcare team. And manage accounts for your loved ones as well as yourself.

Keeping Track / Developing a System

Keeping track of your prescribed medications can be challenging — especially if you're taking several different medicines. Writing things down will make managing your medications a lot easier. Use our printable medicine tracker to stay organized.

Lowering High Blood Pressure
By treating high blood pressure, you can help prevent a stroke, heart attack, heart failure or kidney failure. Our printable blood pressure tracker will help you monitor your blood pressure and record suggestions from your doctor.

Managing Cholesterol Levels
This printable chart will track your cholesterol at each of your medical appointments, along with the efforts you're making to manage your levels, to help you monitor your success.

Manage Everything Online
Heart360 is a one-stop, easy-to-use set of online tracking tools for medications, blood pressure, cholesterol, blood glucose, weight and physical activity.  Set goals and track your progress each time you enter your levels.  Print comprehensive reports to share with your healthcare team. And manage accounts for your loved ones as well as yourself.

Compliance simply means that you follow the recommendations made by your team of healthcare professionals. These recommendations often include taking medications as well as making lifestyle changes such as quitting smoking, eating right and getting the right kind of physical activity. Maintaining a healthy lifestyle can give you the edge in the fight against heart disease and stroke. Follow your doctor's advice carefully, and if you don't understand something, ask questions. Let your doctor be your coach. It's your health. It's your heart.

Are you a "Good Dog" or "Bad Dog" when it comes to your medication? Take our "Good Dog, Bad Dog Compliance Quiz" and find out how well you follow your healthcare professional's recommendations.

Taking medicine may be new to you, and there may be a lot to remember. For example, why are you taking it? What time should you take it? How often do you take it and how many pills do you take? It's important to take medicine the right way — just as prescribed.

If you don't take medicine as directed, what could happen? First of all, it may not work. It could also cause side effects that may be mild — or very harmful. Without knowing it, you could counteract one medicine by taking it with another. Medicine can also make you feel sick or dizzy.

How can I remember to take my medicine?

• Take it at the same time every day.
• Take it along with other daily events, like brushing your teeth.
• Use special pill boxes that help you keep track, like the ones divided into sections for each day of the week (which can be found at a drugstore).
• Ask people close to you to help remind you.
• Keep a "medicine calendar" near your medicine and make a note every time you take your dose.
• Put a sticker or reminder note on your medicine cabinet or refrigerator. You can buy a small magnetized white board with dry-erase markers and list your pills on the board. Each day, mark the board when you take your medication. It's an easy way to keep track, and at the end of the day, just erase the board and start over again in the morning.

Quick Tips for Medication Use

• Understand your medication. Know what it's for, and how and when you're supposed to take it.
• Ask your doctor or pharmacist whether to take your medicine with food or on an empty stomach.
• Make an instruction sheet for yourself by taping a sample of each pill you take on a sheet of paper and writing down all the information about each pill to remind you.
• Get some colored labels and stick them on your medicine bottles to simplify your routine. For example, blue can be for morning, red for afternoon and yellow for bedtime.
• Ask your pharmacist to help you come up with a coding system for your medications that makes them easier to take.
• Purchase timer caps for pill bottles to remind you when to take medication.

Also,

• You can buy many types of pill containers. Some even beep when it's time to take medication. Ask your pharmacist about these aids.
• If your medication routine is too complicated, ask your physician or pharmacist to help you simplify the process.
• If your medications are too expensive, ask your physician or pharmacist about finding financial assistance.
• If you're away from home a lot, make sure you carry enough of your medication with you to take the prescribed doses while you're out. Some pharmacists will prepare blister paks for daily or weekly medications. Ask your pharmacist about this.
• If you're using a commercial pill dispenser, set a regular time each week to refill it; for example, every Friday night after you eat.
• If you have trouble understanding your physician or pharmacist, ask a friend or loved one to go with you and help you.
• If you don't feel like your medication is making a difference, talk to your physician and ask why.
• Do not stop any medications without talking to your physician or healthcare provider.

Quick Tips for Lifestyle Changes

• Ask your physician or healthcare professional to help you with nutrition and physical activity advice.
• Learn to read food labels so you'll be able to limit the satuated fat, trans fats, cholesterol and sodium in your diet.
• Eat fruits, vegetables, fat-free and low-fat dairy, and whole-grain, high-fiber foods most often. Eat fish twice a week. 
• Keep a diary of all your nutrition and physical activity efforts. When you see your successes written down, it will encourage you to continue your good habits.
• Ask your physician if you should have a home blood pressure monitoring kit to see if your medicine is working.
• If you're monitoring your blood pressure at home, ask when you can expect to see the results from your medicine.
• If you don't feel like you're making progress, talk to your physician and ask why your progress is slow.
• If you're having trouble giving up smoking, ask your physician if you can take a smoking cessation drug to help.
• Become an active participant in making treatment decisions. Overcome barriers that keep you from following your doctor's orders.

• Store your medicine the way your doctor or pharmacist tells you. ALWAYS keep it away from heat, light and moisture.
• Never store medications in the bathroom. There's too much moisture there.
• Don't carry medicines next to your body. That can raise the temperature and cause some medications to break down.
• Keep track of what pills you can and can't take together, including over-the-counter medicines.
• Always get your prescription filled on time so you don't run out. Missing even one day can make a difference in the effectiveness of many medications.
• Don't stop taking a prescribed medication because your symptoms have gone away.
• Use one pharmacy for all your medicines. This will help ensure that you don't take conflicting medications.
• Try to see the same pharmacist each time.
• If you have any questions about your pills, make a note to remind yourself to ask your doctor or pharmacist.
• Tell your doctor if you have any side effects.
• Don't take more of your medicine than the prescribed dose.
• Ask your doctor or pharmacist before buying a new over-the-counter medicine, such as an antihistamine or "cold tablets," to be sure they won't interfere with your prescribed medicine.
• Always check with your doctor before you stop taking a medicine.
• Make sure that ALL of your doctors know ALL of the medicines you're taking — both prescription and over-the-counter drugs.
• Be sure to tell your doctor or pharmacist of any herbal preparations you're taking. Some herbals can interact with prescribed medications and cause them to be less effective. 
• Know the names and doses of the medicines you're taking.
• Keep all medicines out of the reach of children.
• ALWAYS let your physician know about any side effects you experience.
• Talk to your physician before starting an exercise program.
• Throw away any medicines that aren't currently prescribed to you.
• Don't share your medications with anyone else. What's right for you may be deadly for them.
• Ask for your pharmacist's advice before crushing or splitting tablets. Some should only be swallowed whole.
• If you store your medications in any container other than the one they come in, be sure to show the container to your pharmacist to ask if it will change the effectiveness of your medication.

Taking medications isn't as simple as swallowing a pill. Medicines can only help if you take them as prescribed. Take part in decisions regarding your treatment, follow the treatment plan you and your doctor agree on, watch for problems and become actively involved in solving them with your healthcare team. By following these guidelines, you can help reduce your risk of heart disease and stroke and achieve the fullest benefits from your treatment plan. Review the following questions with your healthcare team and take an active role in your health.

• What is the name of the medicine?
• Is this the brand or generic name?
• What is the medicine supposed to do?
• How and when do I take it, and for how long?
• What foods, drinks, other medicines or activities should I avoid while taking this medicine?
• Is there any written information available about the medicine?
• What happens if I miss a dose of my medicine?
• How often will I have to get the medication refilled?
• How will I know that my medication is working?
• What are the risks of taking this medication?
• What are the risks of NOT taking this medication?
• Are there less expensive medications for my condition?

Prescription and over-the-counter medicines help many people live longer, more active lives. When you take the right medicines the right way, they're safe and effective tools for good health. But using them incorrectly can harm you. The more medicines you take, the greater your risk of problems. You can protect your health by getting a checkup on your medications. Take these simple steps as outlined by the National Council on Patient Information and Education.

1. Make an appointment with your doctor or your pharmacist.
    
2. Put all your prescription and over-the-counter drugs in a bag. Be sure to include:
    
   • Prescriptions in vials, tubes, bottles and plastic bags
   • Sleep and motion-sickness aids
   • Headache remedies
   • Cold remedies (liquid, capsules and tablets)
   • Laxatives and upset stomach aids
   • Other prescription or over-the-counter drugs you may be taking
   • Vitamins and nutritional supplements
   • Herbal remedies
      
3. Remember to take all of your medications in their original containers if possible.
    
4. Take the bag to your doctor or pharmacist and get him or her to go over all of your medicines with you.
    
5. Ask questions about anything you don't understand.

A checkup like this gives you the opportunity to ask your healthcare professional or pharmacist important questions about your medications. It can help you find dangerous medicine combinations you may be taking, medicines you may not need to take anymore, improper dosages of medicines, and mistakes that you may be making in taking them. Call your doctor or pharmacist today to schedule a medication checkup and take charge of your health.