Cardiovascular risk and blood pressure control in a Spanish hypertensive population attended in a Primary Care setting. Data from the PRESCAP 2006 study.
OBJECTIVE
To analyse the cardiovascular risk of a broad sample of hypertensive patients and to examine whether there are differences in blood pressure control and associated factors according to the different cardiovascular risk categories.


RESULTS
A total of 10,520 patients > or = 18 years old were included (mean age 64.6+/-11.3 years; 53.7% women). In this cohort, 3.3% were average risk, 22.6% low added risk, 22.2% moderate added risk, 33.5% high added risk and 18.4% very high added risk. Blood pressure was controlled in 41.4% (95% CI 40.5-42.4) of the total population, in 91.7% of patients with low added risk, in 19.4% with moderate added risk, in 27.4% with high added risk and in 6.8% with very high added risk. Diabetes was the factor most strongly associated with poor blood pressure control in patients with high to very high added risk (OR=7.2; p<0.0001).


CONCLUSIONS
More than half of the hypertensive patients treated in primary health care have a high or very high added cardiovascular risk. In these patients, blood pressure control is inadequate and diabetes is associated with a sevenfold increase in the likelihood of poor blood pressure control.
Rodriguez-Roca
Gustavo C
GC
Health Care Centre, La Puebla de Montalban, Toledo, Spain. grodriguezr@semergen.es
Llisterri-Caro
Jose L
JL
Barrios-Alonso
Vivencio
V
Alonso-Moreno
Francisco J
FJ
Lou-Arnal
Salvador
S
Prieto-Diaz
Miguel A
MA
Sanchez-Ruiz
Tomas
T
Dura-Belinchon
Rafael
R
Santos-Rodriguez
Jose A
JA
Divison-Garrote
Juan A
JA
Gonzalez-Segura
Diego
D
Banegas-Banegas
Jose R
JR
D000368:Aged; D001794:Blood Pressure / Q000187:drug effects*; D002319:Cardiovascular System; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D003924:Diabetes Mellitus, Type 2 / Q000150:complications / Q000188:drug therapy; D005260:Female; D006630:Hispanic or Latino; D006801:Humans; D006973:Hypertension / Q000150:complications / Q000188:drug therapy / Q000453:epidemiology; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D044382:Population Groups; D011203:Poverty; D011320:Primary Health Care; D012307:Risk Factors; D013030:Spain / Q000453:epidemiology