Hypertension guideline changes likely to target patients on insufficient long-term therapy
Unpublished Australian data show that most patients with uncontrolled hypertension remain on the same treatment.
Upcoming revisions to hypertension guidelines will likely contain specific recommendations for patients whose hypertension is uncontrolled despite medication, a top cardiologist says.
Heart Foundation chief medical adviser Professor Garry Jennings says treatment inertia — failure to change therapy despite patients not reaching therapeutic goals — is common for patients with high in-clinic blood pressure readings.
He told AusDoc that blood pressure levels that put patients at risk were left untreated “far too often”.
“Patients say, ‘I have had a lot of stress at work lately’, or ‘It was hard to get a park today, I am sure it will be down the next time I come in.’
