Adherence and compliance in the treatment of hypertension

Abstract

The hypertension is considered to be a disease occurring most frequently in the general population. Is a health and ecologic problem around the world. Despite the available knowledge and the development of medicine in the direction of Pharmacotherapy and antihypertensive medications, the efficiency of the treatment of hypertension in Poland is only on the level 5–15%. A key element in the therapy is the medical adherence and appropriate cooperation of the patient with medical staff. A satisfactory level of adherence and compliance contributes to achieving the appropriate values of the blood pressure. There is a large number of patients who do not adhere to medical recommendations and thus do not take prescribed medications systematically, scientific justification of this phenomenon has been attempted for several year. A high level of the compliance and adherence decreases the risk of cardiovascular complications and the costs associated with treatment. It also improves the quality of patiens’ lives.