title: Prevalence and management of hypertension in primary care practices with electronic medical records: a report from the Canadian Primary Care Sentinel Surveillance Network.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Most epidemiologic reports on hypertension in Canada are based on data from surveys or on administrative data. We report on the prevalence and management of hypertension based on data from the Canadian Primary Care Sentinel Surveillance Network (CPCSSN), which consists of validated, national, point-of-care data from primary care practices.
  
  
  METHODS
  We included CPCSSN data as of Dec. 31, 2012, for patients 18 years and older who had at least 1 clinical encounter during the previous 2 years with one of the 444 family physicians and nurse-practitioners who participate in the CPCSSN. We calculated the prevalence of hypertension, the proportion of patients who achieved blood pressure targets, the number of encounters with primary care providers, comorbidities and pharmacologic management.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Of the 250 346 patients who met the eligibility criteria, 57 180 (22.8%) had a diagnosis of hypertension. Of the 44 981 patients for whom blood pressure data were available, 35 094 (78.0%) had achieved both targets for systolic (≤□140 mm Hg) and diastolic (≤□90 mm Hg) pressure. Compared with patients who did not have a hypertension diagnosis, those with hypertension were significantly more likely to have a comorbidity and visited their primary care provider more often. Among the patients with hypertension, 12.1% were not taking antihypertensive medications; nearly two-thirds (61.7%) had their condition controlled with 1 or 2 drugs.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The prevalence of hypertension based on CPCSSN data was similar to estimates from the Canadian Health Measures Survey. Although achievement of blood pressure targets was high, patients with hypertension had more comorbidities and saw their primary care provider more often than those without hypertension.
authors.affiliation: Department of Family Medicine, Memorial University, St. John's, NL.
authors.forename: Marshall
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Godwin
authors.affiliation: Department of Family Medicine, Queen's University, Kingston, Ont. ; Department of Public Health Sciences, Queen's University, Kingston, Ont.
authors.forename: Tyler
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Williamson
authors.affiliation: Department of Family Medicine, Queen's University, Kingston, Ont.
authors.forename: Shahriar
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Khan
authors.affiliation: Department of Family and Emergency Medicine, Université de Montréal and Centre de recherche du Centre hospitalier de l'Université de Montréal, Montréal, Que.
authors.forename: Janusz
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Kaczorowski
authors.affiliation: Department of Family Medicine, Memorial University, St. John's, NL.
authors.forename: Shabnam
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Asghari
authors.affiliation: Department of Family Medicine, Queen's University, Kingston, Ont.
authors.forename: Rachel
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Morkem
authors.affiliation: Department of Family Practice, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, BC.
authors.forename: Martin
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Dawes
authors.affiliation: Department of Family Medicine, Queen's University, Kingston, Ont. ; Department of Public Health Sciences, Queen's University, Kingston, Ont.
authors.forename: Richard
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Birtwhistle
references.citation: Can J Cardiol. 2008 Jun;24(6):507-12
references.pmid: 18548150
references.citation: Lancet. 2012 Dec 15;380(9859):2224-60
references.pmid: 23245609
references.citation: Can Fam Physician. 2011 Oct;57(10):1219-20
references.pmid: 21998241
references.citation: Indian J Med Sci. 2004 Sep;58(9):405-6
references.pmid: 15902773
references.citation: Ann Fam Med. 2014 Jul;12(4):367-72
references.pmid: 25024246
references.citation: J Am Board Fam Med. 2013 Mar-Apr;26(2):159-67
references.pmid: 23471929
references.citation: J Am Board Fam Med. 2009 Jul-Aug;22(4):412-22
references.pmid: 19587256
references.citation: JAMA. 2002 Feb 27;287(8):1003-10
references.pmid: 11866648
references.citation: Can J Cardiol. 2007 May 1;23(6):437-43
references.pmid: 17487286