Abstract Body: Introduction: The AHA/ACC 2017 High BP guidelines introduced key changes, compared to previous guidelines, including a new hypertension definition (≥130/80 mm Hg) and lower medication thresholds for patients at cardiovascular risk. The impact of provider adherence to these guidelines on patient BP control has not been fully explored.
Methods: We identified 3,749 new stage 1 hypertension patients (7,214 visits) and 11,013 new stage 2 hypertension patients (33,321 visits), aged ≥18, from the Vanderbilt University Medical Center database. We scrutinized outpatient BP levels, prescribed medications, follow-up visits, lab results, demographics, comorbid conditions, and physician notes from January 2018 to December 2022. This data was compared to hypertension treatment criteria developed from the 2017 guidelines that was validated by six hypertension experts. Active primary care patients (with 1 visit per year) were included. Mixed-effects Poisson regression and mixed-effects linear regression examined the relationship between guideline adherence and controlled BP (<130/80 mm Hg) and continuous BP, respectively.
Results: Among stage 1 hypertension visits, 12.2% were treated with at least one antihypertensive drug according to guidelines, resulting in a 13% increase in BP control and a reduction in systolic BP by 2.02 mm Hg. For stage 2 hypertension visits, 26% received treatment with at least two first-line antihypertensive drug classes, leading to a 45% increase in BP control and reductions in systolic and diastolic BP by 3.79 mm Hg and 1.93 mm Hg, respectively. No significant difference in BP control was observed among stage 2 patients treated with two versus one first-line drug. Adherence to follow-up guidelines resulted in a 24% improvement in BP control for stage 1 patients and stage 2 patients when their follow-up visit occurred within 1 month. Subsequent follow-up visits within 1-month improved BP control by 34% if BP was not controlled previously. Additionally, 42.4% of patients with uncontrolled BP for 1 month received an increase in medication dose or a change/addition of medication class and showed a 7% increase in BP control within next month.
Conclusion: Provider adherence to recommended antihypertensive drug treatment guidelines (12%-26%), follow-up assessments guidelines (29%-37%), and treatment intensification (42.4%) were poor. However, patients treated according to the guidelines showed significant improved BP control.