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Cardiovascular consequences of poor compliance to antihypertensive therapy

Guido Grassi1, Gino Seravalle, Giuseppe Mancia

  • 1Clinica Medica, Dipartimento di Medicina Clinica, Prevenzione e Biotecnologie Sanitarie, Università Milano-Bicocca, Ospedale San Gerardo, Monza (Milan), Italy. guido.grassi@unimib.it

Blood Pressure
|February 9, 2011
PubMed

Insights

Poor medication adherence hinders cardiovascular risk reduction. Angiotensin II receptor blockers (ARBs) show better tolerability and adherence, improving cardiovascular protection, especially for patients at risk of non-adherence.

Area of Science:

  • Cardiology
  • Pharmacology
  • Public Health

Background:

  • Current cardiovascular (CV) risk reduction strategies show a gap between clinical trials and practice.
  • Poor medication adherence, particularly for antihypertensive therapy, is a major cause of this gap.
  • Low adherence leads to suboptimal blood pressure control, increased CV events, and higher healthcare costs.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To investigate the role of medication tolerability in adherence to antihypertensive therapy.
  • To evaluate the potential of Angiotensin II Receptor Blockers (ARBs) in improving patient adherence and CV protection.

Main Methods:

  • Review of clinical trial data and adherence studies for antihypertensive medications.
  • Comparative analysis of tolerability profiles between ARBs and other antihypertensive classes.
  • Examination of recent clinical trial results concerning ARBs and CV outcomes.

Main Results:

  • Adverse effects significantly contribute to diminished medication adherence.
  • ARBs demonstrate superior long-term tolerability compared to other antihypertensive agents.
  • High adherence and persistence rates are observed with ARBs, supported by recent clinical trial data.

Conclusions:

  • ARBs offer better tolerability, leading to improved adherence and persistence in antihypertensive therapy.
  • The enhanced adherence associated with ARBs translates to improved cardiovascular protection.
  • ARBs represent a valuable alternative to angiotensin-converting enzyme inhibitors for patients prone to low adherence.

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