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CC BY-NC-ND 4.0 · Avicenna J Med 2019; 09(04): 148-153
DOI: 10.4103/ajm.AJM_69_19
ORIGINAL ARTICLE

Are cardiac patients in Saudi Arabia provided adequate instructions when they should not drive?

Rami M Abazid
Department of Nuclear Medicine, London Health Sciences Centre, London, Canada, Department of Cardiac Imaging, Prince Sultan Cardiac Center Qassim PSCCQ, Buraydah, El Qassim, Saudi Arabia
,
Mohammed Ewid
Faculty of Medicine, Suliman Al Rajhi Colleges, Buraydah, El Qassim, Saudi Arabia, Internal Medicine Department, Faculty of Medicine, Cairo University, Egypt
,
Hossam Sherif
Faculty of Medicine, Suliman Al Rajhi Colleges, Buraydah, El Qassim, Saudi Arabia, Critical Care Medicine Department, Faculty of Medicine, Cairo University, Egypt
,
Osama A Smettei
Department of Cardiac Imaging, Prince Sultan Cardiac Center Qassim PSCCQ, Buraydah, El Qassim, Saudi Arabia
,
Abdul Salim Khan
Department of Cardiology, Prince Mohammad Bin Abdulaziz Hospital, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia
,
Abdullah A Altorbag
Department of medicine, College of Medicine, Qassim University, El Qassim, Saudi Arabia
,
Mohammad F Alharbi
Department of medicine, College of Medicine, Qassim University, El Qassim, Saudi Arabia
,
Abdulrahman N Aljaber
Department of medicine, College of Medicine, Qassim University, El Qassim, Saudi Arabia
,
Suliman M Alharbi
Department of medicine, College of Medicine, Qassim University, El Qassim, Saudi Arabia
,
Nora A Altorbak
Department of medicine, College of Medicine, Qassim University, El Qassim, Saudi Arabia
,
Sarah A Altorbak
Department of medicine, College of Medicine, Qassim University, El Qassim, Saudi Arabia
,
Ahmad Almeman
Department of Pharmacology, College of Medicine, Qassim University, El Qassim, Saudi Arabia
› Author Affiliations Financial support and sponsorship Nil.
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Abstract

Objective: Driving capability can be significantly affected by different heath disorders; cardiovascular diseases (CVDs) should be considered when assessing patients for medical fitness to drive (MFTD). The aim of this study was to evaluate the awareness of Saudi patients about driving recommendations and to assess the incidence of motor vehicle accidents (MVAs) among cardiac patients. Materials and Methods: We conducted a cross-sectional survey-based study. Male patients diagnosed with CVDs and who were visiting outpatient departments were invited to complete a questionnaire regarding their awareness of driving recommendations. Patients’ demographics, clinical diagnosis, echocardiography parameters, and time-to-CVD diagnosis were all obtained from the patients’ medical records. Women were excluded because it was illegal for women to drive in Saudi Arabia during the study period. Results: In total, 800 men were included, with a mean age of 54 ± 12 years. Driving counseling had been provided to 241 participants (30%). Of these, 207 (25%) were advised not to drive for a period of between one week and six months. Five percent of the patients had a history of MVAs during the follow-up period of 6.2 ± 4 years. We found that the presence of a dyspnea ≥2, according to the New York Heart Association (NYHA), and a history of loss of consciousness (syncope/pre-syncope) were significantly associated with accidents (46% vs. 20%, P < 0.0001 and 41% vs. 10%, P < 0.0001, respectively). Conclusion: Patient–physician discussion about MFTD was only performed with 30% of the patients with CVDs in Saudi Arabia. Dyspnea NYHA class ≥2 or a prior history of syncope were significantly associated with the incidence of MVAs.

Keywords

Cardiovascular diseases - medical fitness to drive - motor vehicle accidents - Saudi Arabia


Publication History

Article published online:
09 August 2021

© 2019. Syrian American Medical Society. This is an open access article published by Thieme under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-NonDerivative-NonCommercial-License, permitting copying and reproduction so long as the original work is given appropriate credit. Contents may not be used for commercial purposes, or adapted, remixed, transformed or built upon. (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/).

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