Treatment of hypertension in Finnish general practice seems unsatisfactory despite evidence‐based guidelines

Figures & data

Table I. Measured office blood pressure (mmHg).

	Systolic blood pressure, mean±SD, range	Diastolic blood pressure, mean±SD, range
All patients (n = 715)	147 ± 22, 92 — 250	88 ± 12, 57 — 133
Men (n = 358)	146 ± 21, 92 — 218	89 ± 12, 59 — 125
Women (n = 357)	148 ± 22, 100 — 250	87 ± 12, 57 — 133
Diabetics (n = 190)	147 ± 22, 111 — 218	85 ± 12, 57 — 121
Men (n = 99)	147 ± 21, 112 — 218	87 ± 11, 68 — 121
Women (n = 91)	147 ± 24, 111 — 194	82 ± 12, 57 — 118

SD, standard deviation.

Table II. The number (%) of patients reaching target blood pressure.

	< 140/90 mmHg	< 140/85 mmHg	< 140/80 mmHg	< 130/80 mmHg
All patients (n = 715)	207 (29%)	166 (23%)	91 (13%)	53 (7%)
Men (n = 358)	100 (28%)	81 (23%)	46 (13%)	30 (8%)
Women (n = 357)	107 (30%)	85 (24%)	45 (13%)	23 (6%)
Diabetics (n = 191)	57 (30%)	51 (27%)	32 (17%)	18 (9%)

Table III. Measured office blood pressure (mmHg) in patients with and without other risk factors than hypertension.

	Systolic blood pressure, mean ± SD	Diastolic blood pressure, mean ± SD
Only hypertension (n = 157)	147 ± 21	91 ± 12
Hypertension and one additional risk factor (n = 274)	147 ± 21	89 ± 12
Hypertension and two additional risk factors (n = 193)	148 ± 21	87 ± 11
Hypertension and three or more additional risk factors (n = 91)	142 ± 25^*	83 ± 12^**

^*p = 0.048 one vs three additional risk factors; p = 0.032 two vs three additional risk factors; ^**p = 0.027 one vs no additional risk factor; p = 0.003 two vs no additional risk factors; p = 0.0003 three vs no additional risk factors. SD, standard deviation.

Table IV. Measured office blood pressure (mmHg) in patients with one, two or at least three antihypertensive drugs.

	Systolic blood pressure, mean ± SD	Diastolic blood pressure, mean ± SD
One antihypertensive drug (n = 263)	149 ± 21	91 ± 12
Two antihypertensive drugs (n = 260)	144 ± 21^*	87 ± 11^*
At least three antihypertensive drugs (n = 192)	148 ± 24^**	86 ± 13^***

^*p = 0.018 systolic blood pressure one vs two antihypertensive drugs; p = 0.001 diastolic blood pressure one vs two antihypertensive drugs; ^**p = 0.046 systolic blood pressure two vs at least three antihypertensive drugs; ^***p = 0.0001 diastolic blood pressure one vs at least three antihypertensive drugs. SD, standard deviation.

Table V. Mean ± standard deviation serum cholesterol and low‐density lipoprotein (LDL) concentrations along with the number (%) of patients reaching target cholesterol concentrations.

	Total cholesterol (mmol/l)	LDL‐cholesterol (mmol/l)	Total cholesterol < 5.0 mmol/l	LDL‐cholesterol < 3.0 mmol/l	LDL‐cholesterol < 2.5 mmol/l	LDL‐cholesterol < 2.0 mmol/l
All patients (n = 715)	5.04 ± 0.9	2.94 ± 0.93	318 (44%)	365 (51%)	208 (29%)	88 (12%)
Men (n = 358)	4.92 ± 0.98	2.95 ± 0.94	176 (49%)	185 (52%)	104 (29%)	44 (12%)
Women (n = 357)	5.17 ± 0.94	2.94 ± 0.91	142 (39%)	180 (50%)	104 (29%)	44 (12%)
Patients prescribed lipid‐lowering drugs (n = 297)	4.72 ± 1.04	2.61 ± 0.92	180 (61%)	206 (69%)	142 (48%)	70 (24%)
Patients on lifestyle modification only (n = 418)	5.11 ± 1.00	3.05 ± 0.95	138 (33%)	159 (38%)	66 (16%)	18 (4%)

Table VI. Antihypertensive medications used.

	All (n = 718)	Men (n = 359)	Women (n = 359)
Beta‐blockers	334 (46.7%)	161 (44.9%)	173 (48.4%)
Angiotensin II type 1 receptor blocker	308 (42.7%)	160 (44.9%)	148 (41.4%)
Diuretics	305 (42.5%)	141 (39.6%)	164 (45.9%)
Calcium channel blockers	228 (31.8%)	108 (30.3%)	120 (33.6%)
Angiotensin‐converting enzyme inhibitors	219 (30.5%)	116 (32.2%)	103 (28.8%)