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Published on: September 26, 2018

The Swedish Primary Care Cardiovascular Database (SPCCD): 74 751 hypertensive primary care patients

Jan Hasselström1, Ramin Zarrinkoub, Charlotte Holmquist

  • 1Stockholm County Drug and Therapeutics Committee.

Blood Pressure
|August 7, 2013
PubMed

Insights

The Swedish Primary Care Cardiovascular Database (SPCCD) reveals significant hypertension data. Despite high medication rates, blood pressure (BP) control needs improvement, highlighting research opportunities.

Area of Science:

  • Cardiovascular medicine
  • Public health research
  • Health informatics

Background:

  • The Swedish Primary Care Cardiovascular Database (SPCCD) was established to consolidate longitudinal data.
  • Electronic medical records were linked to national registers for comprehensive patient information.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To describe the Swedish Primary Care Cardiovascular Database (SPCCD).
  • To analyze blood pressure (BP) levels, clinical characteristics, co-morbidity, and pharmacological treatment in hypertensive patients.
  • To assess the impact of data retrieval on BP measurements.

Main Methods:

  • Utilized longitudinal data from electronic medical records and national registers.
  • Included 74,751 patients diagnosed with hypertension between 2001-2008 from 48 primary healthcare centers.
  • Analyzed blood pressure, co-morbidity, and medication data, noting regional differences in BP measurement digit preference.

Main Results:

  • Data completeness varied, with high rates for drug prescriptions (>99%) but lower for smoking habits (34%).
  • Blood pressure was recorded in 98% of patients during 2001-2008 and 63% in 2008, with a mean BP of 142/80 mmHg in 2008.
  • 88% of patients received antihypertensive prescriptions, with 96% purchasing medication; 28% had cardiovascular co-morbidity, and 22% had diabetes mellitus.

Conclusions:

  • The SPCCD is a large, representative database providing valuable insights into hypertension management in Sweden.
  • There is a clear need for improved blood pressure control among hypertensive patients.
  • The database serves as a rich resource for future research on hypertension and its complications.
Abstract

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