3.1. General characteristics of study patients
A total of 991 patients were included in the present study, with a
median age of 65 (58,72) years old. Study participants were 76.1% male,
and 26.7% lived in a rural area. As the highest level of education
completed, elementary school accounted for the most frequent in 36.2%
of the participants. Of the total respondents, 79% had a diagnosis of
IHD and dyslipidemia, 88.5% were in NYHA functional class I, and 56.6%
were on optimal medical therapy after percutaneous coronary
intervention. Inadequate adherence to treatment was reported by 70.3%,
with forgetfulness as the most frequent cause mentioned in 55.4% of the
cases. Complete general characteristics of study participants are
summarized in Table 1.