Time to achieve first blood pressure control after diagnosis among hypertensive patients at primary health care clinics: a preliminary study.
This study aimed to examine the duration to achieve first blood pressure (BP) control after the diagnosis of hypertension. This was a retrospective cohort study on 195 hypertensive patients' (age ≥18 years) records from a primary health care clinic. The median time to achieve first BP control was 7.2 months (95% confidence interval [CI] = 4.99-9.35). Cox proportional hazards regression results showed female patients were 1.5 times more likely to achieve BP control when compared with male patients (hazard ratio [HR] = 1.50, 95% CI 1.09-2.09, P = .013). Those with monotherapy were 2 times more likely (HR = 2.09, 95% CI = 1.39-3.13, P < 0.001) and those on 2 drugs were 3.5 times more likely (HR = 3.49, 95% CI = 1.65-7.40, P = .001) to achieve BP control than those with nonpharmacological treatment. The median time to achieve BP control was longer than the recommended time. Doctors may need to consider starting the pharmacological treatment early and be more aggressive in hypertensive management for male patients.
Universiti Putra Malaysia, Selangor, Malaysia caitheng@gmail.com.
Ai Theng
AT
Cheong
Universiti Putra Malaysia, Selangor, Malaysia.
Salmiah
S
Mohd Said
Klinik Kesihatan Cheras, Wilayah Persekutuan, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.
Norliza
N
Muksan
D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000554:Ambulatory Care Facilities; D000959:Antihypertensive Agents / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D001794:Blood Pressure; D001795:Blood Pressure Determination; D004359:Drug Therapy, Combination; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D006973:Hypertension / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000188:drug therapy* / Q000503:physiopathology; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D011320:Primary Health Care / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D012737:Sex Factors
D000959:Antihypertensive Agents
blood pressure control; hypertension; median survival time; pharmacological treatment; primary health care