Strategies for Improving Compliance in Hypertensive Patients

The results of the present trial, aimed at elucidating and improving the treatment situation of hypertensives, show that—within the domain of the Finnish community health centres—it continues to be unsatisfactory. The prevalence of the male hypertensives (those without treatment and with a permanent diastolic pressure level of at least 100 mmHg and those under treatment) aged 35 to 49 years, was 12.8%. Only half of them were receiving treatment and of these the treatment was adequate (diastolic pressure 27.0 kg/m2) while 15.7% had at least 30% overweight (BMI >32.0 kg/m2). There were no differences worth noting in overweight between treated and untreated cases. With respect to tobacco smoking there was a clear difference in favour of the hypertensives receiving treatment, among whom only 26.1% were regular smokers, while the corresponding figure for untreated hype...