The Particulars: Investigations reporting on the effect of hypertension programs on blood pressure (BP) control have largely been small in study size. More research on the efficacy of large-scale hypertension programs is needed.
Data Breakdown: A large hypertension project was initiated by researchers in California in which evidence-based clinical practice guidelines were disseminated to providers, reviewed periodically, and updated every 2 years from 2001 to 2012. Physicians were educated on the guidelines and received updates on their own and on group hypertension control performance measurements. BP checks and single pill combination therapies were promoted. Medical centers with superior performance were used as examples for others. During the entire study period, the prevalence of controlled BP increased from 43.6% to 85.7%. From 2009 to 2012, hypertension control rates improved from 80.4% to 85.7%.
Take Home Pearl: Implementation of a comprehensive hypertension program appears to substantially improve BP control rates.
