Blood Pressure Control in Patients Initiating Antihypertensive Therapy

Background:Although information concerning the attainment of goal blood pressure for patients commencing antihypertensive therapy is available from controlled trials, no studies have examined this issue in the context of typical clinical practice.Objective:To examine attainment of blood pressure control over time in patients initiating antihypertensive therapy in clinical practice.MethodsUsing an electronic medical records database, we identified all adults with systolic blood pressure (SBP}/diastolic blood pressure (DBP) ol 140/90 mm Hg or higher who initiated antihypertensive drug therapy. Subjects were stratified into subgroups based on the presence of high-risk conditions or characteristics described by the Joint National Committee on the Prevention, Detection, Evaluation, and Treatment of High Blood Pressure in their seventh report as “compelling indications” (eg, diabetes) or “special situations” (eg. obesity). Blood pressure control was examined in terms of goal attainment and reductions in blood p...