An important medication used to perform tests on the heart is in low supply in Canada, meaning patients will have to wait even longer to find out if they have coronary artery disease, says a Toronto-based doctor.
The antiplatelet medication, called dipyridamole, is used to artificially relax arteries in the heart and dilate blood vessels so doctors can monitor blood flow through the heart muscle during a stress test. It is often used on patients who are unable to exercise for the test due to mobility challenges, or those who have cardiovascular problems. The tests are also known as myocardial perfusion scans.
Dr. Christopher Overgaard, director of invasive cardiology at Southlake Regional Health Centre, told CTV鈥檚 Your Morning on Monday the shortage is a 鈥渂ig deal鈥� as it will force doctors to delay myocardial perfusion scans for patients.
鈥淚t's going to force us to really change which patients are prioritized. And it's not fun to have to do that because, really, everybody that has had the test order needs it done,鈥� said Overgaard.
Across Canada, patients have experienced significant wait times for important medical procedures or tests, and some have died while waiting for assistance.
Between 2021 and 2022, at least 13,581 patients died while waiting for surgeries, procedures and diagnostic scans, which represents a 23 per cent increase compared to the year before, according to a published in December 2022.
This drug shortage could force some patients to wait longer before receiving the help they need, said Overgaard.
SURPRISE SHORTAGE
Health Canada announced a in June due to , according to Drug Shortages Canada. The company reported contract customers will receive 50 per cent of their 鈥渉istorical monthly demand鈥� before a supply interruption takes effect from Aug. 1 to 18.
This is the second major cardiology drug shortage in Canada in recent months. Nitroglycerin spray, used to treat pain and improve blood flow, has been in
The low supply, classified as Tier 3 due to its importance, came as a surprise to Overgaard who also owns a cardiac clinic in Toronto.
鈥淚t kind of came out of nowhere. So we were all very surprised about this,鈥� said Overgaard, who explained the first time he heard about the shortage was from his own laboratory after requesting multiple tests.
鈥淥ur own lab will call us and say, 鈥楿nfortunately, we can鈥檛 do this test in a timely fashion because of this delay,鈥欌�� he said.
To mitigate the shortage of this crucial drug in the country, Health Canada will allow dipyridamole to be imported from the United States until late August.
鈥淚t鈥檚 actually not very clear to us and users why this is happening,鈥� said Overgaard. 鈥淚t seems to be the usual 鈥榮upply-chain problems,鈥� which we don鈥檛 really understand as end users.鈥�
The Toronto-based doctor said there鈥檚 been an increase in the number of patients getting tested for cardiology or cardiac conditions since the pandemic started.
To hear the full interview click the video at the top of this article.
