To assess the prevalence of prehypertension and the prevalence and treatment of hypertension in a family practice population.
Cross-sectional study.
An academic family practice unit.
Practice patients aged 30 to 80 years who had visited the clinic at least once during the 2 years before the study and had at least 1 blood pressure (BP) measurement recorded on their charts during that time period.
Most recent BP recorded on the chart; presence or absence of a diagnosis of hypertension recorded on the chart; number and class of prescribed antihypertensive medications.
Of the 1388 patients who met the inclusion criteria, 389 had a diagnosis of hypertension. Of the 999 who did not have a diagnosis of hypertension, 306 (30.6%) met the criteria for prehypertension used in this study (systolic BP of 130 to 139 mm Hg or diastolic BP of 85 to 89 mm Hg). Men and older patients (60 to 80 years of age) were more likely to have prehypertension than other patients were. Of the patients with hypertension, 254 (65%) had achieved a BP level of
Notes
Cites: Am J Hypertens. 2000 Jan;13(1 Pt 2):3S-10S10678282
