title: Blood pressure control 1 year after referral to a hypertension specialist.
abstract: Hypertension is highly prevalent and remains poorly controlled. The purpose of this study was to evaluate blood pressure (BP) control in patients with uncontrolled hypertension 1 year after referral to a hypertension specialist. A retrospective chart review was performed on 158 patients evaluated by a single hypertension specialist between 2005 and 2010 at the Penn Hypertension Program. Patients were included if they had at least 1 year of follow-up and had baseline plasma renin activity and plasma aldosterone concentration measured. Drug regimens were adjusted with particular attention to results of renin-aldosterone profiling. Mean BP of the entire cohort decreased from 149/87 mm Hg to 129/78 mm Hg at 1 year (P<.0001), without a significant change in the number of antihypertensive medications. The authors observed that referral to a hypertension specialist was worthwhile and associated with a significant reduction in BP without an increase in the number of BP medications used at 1 year.
authors.affiliation: Renal, Electrolyte and Hypertension Division, Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA.
authors.forename: Matthew G
authors.initials: MG
authors.lastname: Denker
authors.forename: Danny B
authors.initials: DB
authors.lastname: Haddad
authors.forename: Raymond R
authors.initials: RR
authors.lastname: Townsend
authors.forename: Debbie L
authors.initials: DL
authors.lastname: Cohen
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000450:Aldosterone / Q000097:blood; D000959:Antihypertensive Agents / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D001794:Blood Pressure / Q000187:drug effects / Q000502:physiology*; D015331:Cohort Studies; D005260:Female; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D006801:Humans; D006973:Hypertension / Q000097:blood / Q000188:drug therapy* / Q000503:physiopathology; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D010349:Patient Compliance; D012017:Referral and Consultation; D012083:Renin / Q000097:blood; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D013038:Specialization; D016896:Treatment Outcome
chemical_list: D000959:Antihypertensive Agents; D000450:Aldosterone; D012083:Renin
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