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U.S. Outperforms Europe in Managing High Blood Pressure
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TUESDAY, Jan. 23 (HealthDay News) -- Doctors in the United States do a much better job of controlling patients'' high blood pressure than do doctors in western Europe, a new U.S. study finds. This is because American doctors tend to start treatment for high blood pressure earlier and more aggressively when treating the condition, said the researchers from the University of Chicago and Temple and Stanford universities. "We found that U.S. physicians tended to have a lower threshold for beginning treatment and were more willing to increase the dose or add other medications when patients did not respond. This is consistent with more aggressive treatment guidelines in the U.S.," study lead author Dr. Richard Wang, a resident in internal medicine at Temple University Medical Center, said in a prepared statement. The findings were published in the Jan. 22 issue of the journal Archives of Internal Medicine. The researchers analyzed clinic visits made by more than 21,000 hypertension patients. They found that 63 percent of the U.S. patients had their blood pressure under control (defined as less than 140/90 mm Hg), compared to 31 percent in Italy, 36 percent in the United Kingdom, 40 percent in Germany and Spain, and 46 percent in France. The study also found that 32 percent of U.S. patients with inadequately controlled hypertension received a change or increase in their medications, compared with 14 percent to 26 percent of European patients. Despite the better blood pressure control in the United States, nearly half of American hypertension patients included in the study did not achieve blood pressure levels that meet current guidelines. "Substantial potential for better hypertension control and future cost savings exists in both Europe and the United States," the study authors wrote. Overall, fewer than two-thirds of the patients in this study achieved blood pressure levels that met guidelines in their countries. More information The American Heart Association has more about high blood pressure.
Last Updated: Jan. 23, 2007 Copyright © 2007 ScoutNews, LLC. All rights reserved. |