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Long-term adherence to antihypertensive therapy: a survey in four primary care clinics

Shlomo Vinker1, Adi Alkalay, Robert D Hoffman

  • 1Central District, Clalit Health Services, Department of Family Medicine, Rishon LeZion, Israel. vinker01@zahav.net.il

Expert Opinion on Pharmacotherapy
|May 14, 2008
PubMed

Insights

Poor adherence to blood pressure medication is common. Factors like gender, immigration status, and medication type influence adherence, necessitating better physician awareness and documentation.

Area of Science:

  • Cardiology
  • Pharmacology
  • Public Health

Background:

  • Suboptimal blood pressure control affects many hypertensive patients.
  • Poor adherence to prescribed treatment is a primary cause of uncontrolled hypertension.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To determine factors associated with reduced adherence to antihypertensive medications.
  • To inform strategies for improving patient compliance in hypertension management.

Main Methods:

  • A retrospective study analyzed data from 3799 hypertensive patients across four urban clinics.
  • Data collected included patient demographics, comorbidities, medication type, and treatment adherence.
  • Reasons for non-adherence were assessed in a subset of 453 patients' medical records.

Main Results:

  • Over 58% of patients discontinued at least one antihypertensive medication.
  • Lower adherence was linked to female gender, recent immigration, ischemic heart disease, and non-diabetic status.
  • Angiotensin receptor blockers and selective beta-blockers showed higher adherence rates than non-selective beta-blockers.

Conclusions:

  • Antihypertensive treatment adherence decreases over time, influenced by medication class, sociodemographic factors, and clinical characteristics.
  • Physicians need enhanced documentation and increased focus on patient adherence to antihypertensive therapies.
  • Commonly cited reasons for non-adherence included side effects and lack of blood pressure control.
Abstract

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