[Between old and new targets: blood pressure control in hypertensive outpatients]

In developed countries, blood pressure (BP) control has increased over the past few decades and is now approaching 70% of patients. Herewith we report the results of a cross-sectional study carried out on hypertensive outpatients.

In a cohort of 1,412 consecutive hypertensive outpatients (790 females, 622 males; mean age: 60.3±12.2 years) evaluated from January 2015 to December 2016, the following parameters were assessed: age, gender, body mass index (BMI), waist circumference (WC), smoking habits, BP in the sitting position, estimated glomerular filtration rate (eGFR), serum glucose, lipid profile, antihypertensive drugs prescribed. In agreement with the European guidelines, hypertension was defined as sitting BP ≥140/90 mmHg or use of antihypertensive drugs. Patients whose BP was <140/90 mmHg were considered as having achieved BP control. Furthermore, in compliance with the redefinition of hypertension suggested by the American College of Cardiology/American Heart Association (ACC/AHA), a second level of BP control (BP <130/80 mmHg) was evaluated.

Overall, 75.7% of hypertensive patients achieved BP levels <140/90 mmHg, while 50.5% achieved BP levels <130/80 mmHg. In both contexts, compared with patients whose BP was not controlled, those achieving the BP targets were mainly younger and females with a lower prevalence of obesity, diabetes and chronic kidney disease. Furthermore, they also had a lower WC and a higher eGFR.

Nearly 76% of patients achieved the BP target of <140/90 mmHg, a result which is higher than the 70% achieved in Europe, and 50.6% achieved that of <130/80 mmHg, a result which is slightly higher than the 47% recently reported in USA.