Clinicians have room for improvement when managing patients’ high blood pressure, according to a nationwide health data analysis.
Among 1.5 million patients studied, 60% had their blood pressure controlled to below 140/90 mmHg, the cutoff for a diagnosis of stage 2 hypertension. Yet when high readings were found, only 12% received new medications or dose adjustments, investigators reported. In addition, only 22% of these patients were retested to confirm the high readings, a practice that’s recommended by the American Heart Association.
“We were particularly struck by the low rates of medication intensification when blood pressure is found to be high during a clinic visit,” said Rhonda M. Cooper-DeHoff, PharmD. “If we can improve medication prescribing rates, our data suggest we could make a big difference in blood pressure control.”
Indeed, when clinicians did follow best practices, the average reduction in blood pressure was relatively large – at 15 mmHg, added Cooper-DeHoff, from the University of Florida.
In older individuals, aggressive blood pressure control has been shown to prevent dizziness and falls, and to lower the risk of dementia, McKnight’s Clinical Daily has reported. In fact, at least one study has shown that intensive blood pressure control is safe and improves brain and cardiovascular health in adults 75 and older.
The new research was presented Friday at the American Heart Association’s Epidemiology and Prevention / Lifestyle and Cardiometabolic Health Scientific Sessions 2020.
