Background: Arterial hypertension is very common in Poland. Majority of subjects who are aware of the disease are treated by general practitioners (GPs). The aim of our study was to evaluate the treatment effectiveness in hypertensive patients treated by GPs in Poland.
Material and Methods: 15 838 hypertensive patients treated by 528 GPs from different parts of Poland were investigated. Every patient had his or her blood pressure measured twice within approximately 5-minute interval in sited position. We used mean blood pressure from both measurements in our further analysis. GPs performed blood pressure measurements in their cabinets.
Results: Only 8,3% treated hypertensive patients had systolic blood pressure SBP < 140 mmHg and diastolic blood pressure DBP < 90 mm Hg, 8,7% in men and 7,9% in women respectively. In the whole cohort sex had no significant influence on hypertension therapy effectiveness (p = 0,08). However, in women aged 60 years or older the treatment efficacy turned out to be significantly lower compared to men of the same age (7,5% in women and 9% in men, p < 0,02). In addition, in men aged 50 years or older the treatment efficacy was significantly higher compared to younger men (p < 0,0001). The prevalence of isolated systolic hypertension defined as SBP ł ł 140 and DBP < 90 mm Hg was significantly more frequent in women. There was significant difference between mean SBP in men (161,0 ± 19,9 mm Hg) and women (162,6 ± 20,7 mm Hg, p < 0,001). Mean DBP in women (94,8 ± 11,5 mm Hg) and men (95,1 ± ± 1,4 mm Hg) did not differ significantly (p = 0,37). The difference between mean pulse pressure (PP) in women (67,8 ± 16,6 mm Hg) and men (65,9 ± 16,0 mm Hg) was significant (p < 0,001).
Conclusion: It seems that vast majority of hypertensive patients treated pharmacologically by GPs in Poland is treated unsuccessfully. The situation is found to be relatively equally unsatisfactory in both men and women.