Patients are more likely to stick with their prescribed medication regimen if they receive text reminders, suggests a new study.

A randomized trial conducted by researchers from Queen Mary University of London tested if text messaging could improve the use of blood pressure and cholesterol lowering medication among patients. The medication are use to prevent heart attacks and stroke, which are among the world's most common causes of deaths.

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The failure to take prescribed medication is an important and overlooked problem in medicine, said lead author David Wald, a Consultant Cardiologist and Professor from the Queen Mary University of London. The results of the trial show text message reminders could be a simple and effective way to overcome the problem.

Wald added that more than just a reminder, the texts could also provide the link to determine if the patients needed further help.

About a third of the patients don't take their medicines as directed. Some of the patients merely forget to take their drugs while others stop due to the uncertainty over the benefits or the potential harm of the medication.

Researchers asked 303 patients prescribed treatments for blood pressure or cholesterol lowering to take part in the study to find out if text reminders are beneficial.

The patients were then randomly divided into two groups. The first group received periodic text messages while the second received no text messages.

Those in the first group received texts every day for two weeks, on alternate days for the next two weeks and finally weekly for six months. The messages asked the patients if they had taken their medication that day. Patients who did not reply were phoned and offered help.

Only nine percent of the patients in the group sent text reminders stopped their medication, compared with the 25 percent of patients who didn't receive any text messages.

The health implications of the study are considerable from both economic and health gain perspective, said Emeritus Professor David Taylor of Pharmaceutical and Public Health Policy at University College London.

The study could also go beyond cardiovascular disease prevention and could be used in treatments for other chronic diseases, Taylor added.

The study was recently published the journal, PLOS One.