[Effects of new treatment criteria and goals in patients with high blood pressure in general practice].
BACKGROUND
This study examined the changes in detection and treatment of hypertension in a rural general practice after the introduction of new guidelines for treatment of hypertension published in 1999 by the Danish Hypertension Society.


METHODS
Data from all patients in practice diagnosed with hypertension on 1 October 1998 were registered (n = 200). By 1 October 2003, 28 patients had left the cohort due to death (n = 26) or moving to other parts of the country (n = 2). For the remaining 172 patients, the blood pressure in 1998 and 2003 was found in the case record. The results of physical examinations, risk factors, morbidity rates and treatment were registered.


RESULTS
In 1998, the average blood pressure in the study cohort was 157/89 mmHg. By 2003, it had fallen to 141/84 mmHg. The difference in both systolic and diastolic blood pressure was statistically significant (p < 0.001). In 1998, 27 percent of the hypertensive patients in the cohort had reached the target value (< or = 140/90 mmHg). This percentage rose to 55 percent in 2003. The pattern of examinations concerning tracking down risk factors was markedly altered in the period. Pharmacological treatment had substantially increased during the period, with many more patients being treated with more than one drug.


CONCLUSIONS
This study indicates that the introduction of new guidelines has caused considerable changes in the detection, risk evaluation and treatment of hypertension.
Krabbe
Tyge
T
Almen Medicinsk Forskningsenhed i Frederiksborg Amt og Forskningsenheden for Almen Praksis i København. tyge@dadlnet.dk
Drivsholm
Thomas
T
D000328:Adult; D000959:Antihypertensive Agents / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D001795:Blood Pressure Determination; D003718:Denmark; D005194:Family Practice; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D006973:Hypertension / Q000188:drug therapy*; D008297:Male; D017410:Practice Guidelines as Topic; D018570:Risk Assessment; D012307:Risk Factors; D016896:Treatment Outcome
D000959:Antihypertensive Agents