Do patients experience better outcomes during intensive blood pressure control?

This study investigated if intensive blood pressure control affected self-reported patient outcomes.

They found that patients undergoing intensive control reported similar levels of quality of life and treatment satisfaction as patients undergoing a standard control regimen.

Hypertension, or high blood pressure, is a serious condition that can lead to many complications, including heart attack or death. When treating hypertension, the standard guideline is to aim to reduce systolic blood pressure (pressure when the heart is contracting) lower than 140 mmHg.

Recent studies have shown that intensive blood pressure control may be more beneficial than the standard approach. Intensive blood pressure control aims to reduce systolic blood pressure below 120 mmHg. In order to achieve this, patients may require additional medication, and this has been associated with a poorer health-related quality of life. 

This study investigated if an intensive blood pressure control regimen had any effect on patient-reported outcomes.

This study included 9361 patients with hypertension. Patients were randomly assigned to either the standard or intensive blood pressure control regimen. Several surveys were used to assess patient opinions on health-related quality of life, depression and treatment satisfaction. Adherence to medication was also investigated.

Systolic blood pressure was an average of 14.8 mmHg lower with intensive control compared to standard. Average scores in all health-related quality of life tests were similar in both standard and intensive control groups, despite intensive control participants achieving a lower blood pressure. Treatment satisfaction was also similar between both groups (88.6% intensive versus 88.2% standard).

This study concluded that patients undergoing intensive control reported similar levels of quality of life and treatment satisfaction as patients undergoing a standard control regimen.

Long-term follow-up on patient satisfaction was not performed. Patient opinion may change over prolonged treatment. 

If you have any concerns regarding blood pressure management and treatment satisfaction, please consult with your physician.