Does improving hypertension control involve more than just pills?
Suzanne Oparil
Correspondence Vascular Biology and Hypertension Program, University of Alabama at Birmingham, 703 19th Street South, ZRB 1034, Birmingham, AL 35294–0007, USA
Email soparil@uab.edu
This article has no abstract so we have provided the first paragraph of the full text.
Hypertension is the most common modifiable cardiovascular risk factor, and BP reduction in hypertensive patients is highly effective at preventing cardiovascular and renal diseases. A large number of antihypertensive agents are effective at controlling BP in most patients, usually when taken in combination. Randomized clinical trials enrolling older moderate to high risk individuals have demonstrated rates of BP control (<140/90 mmHg) in the range 50–70%. By contrast, BP control rates in community practice tend to be much lower, at approximately 25–30% of patients. This is a particular problem in the elderly, who have the highest prevalence of hypertension and are at the highest risk of target organ damage and cardiovascular events. Data from the Framingham Heart Study, for example, show that BP control rates in treated female hypertensive patients dramatically declined from 38% in those aged under 60 years, to 28% in those aged 60–79 years, and 23% in those aged over 80 years.1
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