Matão Controlling Hypertension (MatCH) project: Rationale and design

Area of Science:

• Cardiology
• Public Health
• Community Medicine

Background:

• Hypertension is a primary risk factor for cardiovascular diseases.
• Integrated health strategies, like Brazil's Family Health Strategy (FHS) and Popular Pharmacy Program (PPP), can improve blood pressure (BP) control.
• The Matão Controlling Hypertension (MatCH) project aimed to implement such a coordinated program.

Purpose of the Study:

• To actively identify, treat, and follow-up hypertensive individuals within the Matão community.
• To assess the effectiveness of an integrated FHS and PPP approach for hypertension management.
• To correlate hypertension prevalence, awareness, and risk factors with BP control outcomes.

Main Methods:

• A community-based, interventional, four-year follow-up study involving approximately 18,600 subjects aged 40+.
• Monthly BP assessments by Community Health Agents during home visits.
• Referral of identified hypertensive individuals to FHS physicians for treatment, with medications largely supplied by the PPP.

Main Results:

• Data on prevalence, awareness, demographics, and risk factors were collected and correlated with BP control.
• The study focused on achieving large-scale BP control within the target population.

Conclusions:

• Early detection and treatment of hypertension are essential for reducing BP-related mortality and morbidity.
• Successful implementation of the MatCH program could serve as a model for hypertension control in other developing countries.