Patients' and health professionals' attitudes and perceptions towards the initiation of preventive drugs for primary prevention of cardiovascular disease: a systematic review of qualitative studies.

The attitudes of patients and health professionals regarding drug initiation for primary prevention reflect the complexity of the patient-health professional encounter in primary practice. For prescribing to be more adherent to guidelines, research should further investigate the patient-health professional relationship and the appropriate communication methods required when discussing drug initiation, specifically for primary prevention.