TY - JOUR
T1 - Blood pressure control in Italy
T2 - Results of recent surveys on hypertension
AU - Volpe, Massimo
AU - Tocci, Giuliano
AU - Trimarco, Bruno
AU - Rosei, Enrico Agabiti
AU - Borghi, Claudio
AU - Ambrosioni, Ettore
AU - Menotti, Alessandro
AU - Zanchetti, Alberto
AU - Mancia, Giuseppe
PY - 2007/7
Y1 - 2007/7
N2 - BACKGROUND: Blood pressure (BP) control is reported to be poor in hypertensive patients worldwide. OBJECTIVE: BP levels, the rate of BP control, prevalence of risk factors and total cardiovascular risk were assessed in a large cohort of hypertensive patients, derived from recent surveys performed in Italy. METHODS: Fifteen studies on hypertension, performed in different clinical settings (general population, general clinical practice, specialist outpatient clinics and hypertension centres) over the past decade were considered. RESULTS: The overall sample included 52 715 hypertensive patients (26 315 men and 26 410 women, mean age 57.3 ± 6.9 years). Despite the high percentage of patients on stable antihypertensive treatment (n = 36 556, 69%), mean systolic and diastolic BP levels were 147.8 ± 8.5 and 89.5 ± 5.2 mmHg, respectively. On the basis of the nature of the study (population surveys or clinical referrals), systolic BP levels were consistently higher than the normality threshold in both settings (142.6 ± 12.4/84.8 ± 3.7 mmHg and 150.4 ± 4.6/91.9 ± 4.1 mmHg, respectively). The BP stratification could be assessed in 40 829 individuals: 4.5% had optimal, 9.2% normal and 8.3% high-normal BP levels, however, the large majority were in grade 1 (39%) or grades 2-3 (32.6%) hypertension. In the overall sample, 55.9% of hypertensive patients had hypercholesterolemia, 28.7% were smokers, 36.4% were overweight or obese and 15.0% had diabetes mellitus. Cardiovascular risk stratification was assessed in 37 813 hypertensives: 23.2% had low, 33.9% moderate, 30.2% high and 12.7% very high added risk. CONCLUSION: Our analysis demonstrates the persistence of poor BP control and high prevalence of risk factors, supporting the need for more effective, comprehensive and urgent actions to improve the clinical management of hypertension.
AB - BACKGROUND: Blood pressure (BP) control is reported to be poor in hypertensive patients worldwide. OBJECTIVE: BP levels, the rate of BP control, prevalence of risk factors and total cardiovascular risk were assessed in a large cohort of hypertensive patients, derived from recent surveys performed in Italy. METHODS: Fifteen studies on hypertension, performed in different clinical settings (general population, general clinical practice, specialist outpatient clinics and hypertension centres) over the past decade were considered. RESULTS: The overall sample included 52 715 hypertensive patients (26 315 men and 26 410 women, mean age 57.3 ± 6.9 years). Despite the high percentage of patients on stable antihypertensive treatment (n = 36 556, 69%), mean systolic and diastolic BP levels were 147.8 ± 8.5 and 89.5 ± 5.2 mmHg, respectively. On the basis of the nature of the study (population surveys or clinical referrals), systolic BP levels were consistently higher than the normality threshold in both settings (142.6 ± 12.4/84.8 ± 3.7 mmHg and 150.4 ± 4.6/91.9 ± 4.1 mmHg, respectively). The BP stratification could be assessed in 40 829 individuals: 4.5% had optimal, 9.2% normal and 8.3% high-normal BP levels, however, the large majority were in grade 1 (39%) or grades 2-3 (32.6%) hypertension. In the overall sample, 55.9% of hypertensive patients had hypercholesterolemia, 28.7% were smokers, 36.4% were overweight or obese and 15.0% had diabetes mellitus. Cardiovascular risk stratification was assessed in 37 813 hypertensives: 23.2% had low, 33.9% moderate, 30.2% high and 12.7% very high added risk. CONCLUSION: Our analysis demonstrates the persistence of poor BP control and high prevalence of risk factors, supporting the need for more effective, comprehensive and urgent actions to improve the clinical management of hypertension.
KW - Blood pressure control
KW - Cardiovascular risk
KW - Hypertension surveys
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U2 - 10.1097/HJH.0b013e3280fa83a6
DO - 10.1097/HJH.0b013e3280fa83a6
M3 - Article
C2 - 17563573
AN - SCOPUS:34250322546
VL - 25
SP - 1491
EP - 1498
JO - Journal of Hypertension
JF - Journal of Hypertension
SN - 0263-6352
IS - 7
ER -