Improving practice

Publisher： CSF Medical Communications Ltd

ISSN： 1742-7010

Source： Drugs In Context Primary Care Part B: Cardiovascular Medicine II, Vol.1, Iss.12, 2004-12, pp. : 493-502

Disclaimer: Any content in publications that violate the sovereignty, the constitution or regulations of the PRC is not accepted or approved by CNPIEC.

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Abstract

Hypertension is a significant problem both in the UK and globally, and its management is a major part of GPs. daily workload. However, in spite of the fact that uncontrolled hypertension places patients at a greater risk of cardiovascular disease (CVD) and death, its management in primary care is still suboptimal, despite some improvements in recent years. A number of initiatives have been instigated which, it is hoped, will improve the management of the condition in the UK. These include the National Service Frameworks (NSFs) in England and the new General Medical Services (GMS) contract for GPs. In addition, the availability of new guidelines from the British Hypertension Society (BHS) for the management of hypertension in the UK offers us clear, simple and practical advice to improve the care of our patients. The BHS guidelines call for treatment initiation at certain thresholds determined by the magnitude of blood pressure elevation, the level of cardiovascular risk and the presence or absence of other comorbidities such as diabetes. In order for patients to achieve new and more stringent blood pressure targets, these guidelines indicate that multiple drug treatment (based on the ABCD treatment algorithm) is likely to be necessary. The availability of the new GMS contract has driven the need for effective clinical audit, particularly with regard to our performance in the control of hypertension.