Stroke prevention is priority in high BP
Preventing stroke is the top priority in treating hypertension but this is not translated into current prescribing decisions.
A survey of nearly 820 general practitioners from 11 European countries,
including the United Kingdom, revealed that 48 per cent considered that
primary stroke prevention was of “extremely high” concern
when selecting antihypertensive therapy, compared with 40 per cent who
put heart attack prevention as a high priority. Two-thirds were aware
that certain antihypertensives were more effective in reducing stroke
risk. However, prescribing data revealed that angiotensin II antagonists
were used only 13 per cent of the time to treat hypertension.
Professor Philip Poole-Wilson, president of the World Heart Federation
(who carried out the survey with an educational grant from MSD) and professor
of cardiology at the National Heart and Lung Institute, Imperial College
London, noted: “[Doctors] believe that their purpose in treating
hypertension is to prevent stroke. They are aware that certain antihypertensives
are more effective than others in lowering stroke risk. It is important
that they act on clinical findings to reduce the risk of stroke with
therapies that have been shown to achieve this important benefit.”
Data were presented at the European
Society of Cardiology congress held
in Vienna earlier this week. |
