No abstract

The aim of this study was to examine the blood pressure (BP) levels in patients treated for essential hypertension in 1816 patients in general practice in Norway. The study was based on an optical readable questionnaire filled out by the physician including information about systolic (S) and diastolic (D) BP, gender, age, body weight, smoking habits and all pharmaceutical treatment given. Sixty-four per cent of the patients were treated with one antihypertensive drug. Only 22.3% of the women and 30.7% of the men (p < 0.05) had BP < or = 140/90 mmHg. When BP < 160/95 was used as criterion for BP control, the fraction of patients was 50%. The fraction of patients with DBP < or = 80 mmHg was 26% in the whole group of patients. DBP < or = 90 mmHg was achieved in 74% and SBP < or = 140 mmHg in 30% of the patients. The BP control was less in women and in patients above 60 years of age. Patients on combination therapy were no better controlled than those on monotherapy. Based on our results, the proportion of hypertensive patients on drug treatment with insufficient BP control is too high. Efforts should be made to improve the medical treatment of hypertension in general practice in Norway.

The objective of this study was to determine the frequency and profile of adverse reactions to antihypertensive drugs in an unselected group of drug-treated hypertensive patients. A questionnaire-based survey was carried out among 2586 drug-treated hypertensive patients who attended a general practitioner for clinical control. Adverse drug reactions reported spontaneously, upon general inquiry, upon specific questioning and as evaluated by a physician were used as the main outcome measures. The study shows that the percentage of patients who reported adverse drug reactions spontaneously, upon general inquiry and upon specific questioning were 16%, 24% and 62% respectively. Users of diuretics reported the lowest frequency of adverse reactions, whereas users of beta-blockers reported the highest frequency. In 7% of the patients, the adverse drug reactions were of such a nature that the physicians considered discontinuing the treatment. As a conclusion, the reported frequency of adverse drug reactions in antihypertensive treatment is high, but with significant differences between the various drug groups. Monotherapy is connected with far fewer adverse drug reactions than combination therapy.