Stroke survivors might be getting too many sedatives Three-quarters of benzodiazepine prescriptions following stroke are for more than a week’s supply That amount of drugs could hamper recovery and risk addiction THURSDAY, Oct. 17, 2024 (HealthDay News) -- Doctors might be overprescribing sedatives to survivors, a new study warns. About 5% of people are prescribed a benzodiazepine following a stroke, to help calm anxiety and improve sleep, researchers found.
Benzodiazepine meds include Valium, Ativan and Xanax. But these prescriptions often are for pills that last longer than a week, which could hamper a person’s recovery and increase their risk of addiction. “We found a pattern of potential oversupply with these initial benzodiazepine prescriptions, which would be enough for patients to become long-term users or possibly addicted,” said researcher , a data analytics manager at Massachusetts General Brigham in Boston.
“The benzodiazepine prescriptions given under these circumstances may lead to dependence.” For the study, researchers analyzed a decade’s worth of Medicare claims data on first-time prescriptions for benzodiazepines among more than 120,000 stroke victims aged 65 and older. “For this older age group, guidelines recommend that benzodiazepine prescriptions should be avoided if possible,” Brooks said.
These sedatives increase the risk of falls, broken bones, memory problems, confusion and other harmful effects, the researchers said. “However, the.
