Blood pressure target attainment according to the recent ESC cardiovascular prevention guidelines

Abstract

Abstract Funding Acknowledgements Type of funding sources: None. Introduction New cardiovascular prevention guidelines have recently been issued by the European Society of Cardiology (ESC). Purpose To record blood pressure (BP) target attainment according to the recent ESC cardiovascular prevention guidelines. Methods A retrospective observational study involving 1334 dyslipidemic patients followed-up for ≥3 years at the Outpatient Lipid Clinic in University General Hospital of Ioannina, Greece. BP target attainment was recorded. ESC 2021 guidelines recommend a general target of BP <140/80 mmHg and individual targets of: i) diastolic BP <80 mmHg in all patients and ii) systolic BP 120-130 mmHg in patients 18-69 years of age without chronic kidney disease, or systolic BP 130-140 mmHg in patients 18-69 years of age with chronic kidney disease, or in those ≥70 years of age. Results Among the 1334 subjects, 935 (45% men, 68 [60-75 years old]) were diagnosed with hypertension and received antihypertensive treatment. Of those, 19% were diagnosed with chronic kidney disease, 24% with atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease and 23% with type 2 diabetes. Of those, 75% were receiving an angiotensin receptor blocker, 52% a thiazide diuretic, 52% a calcium channel blocker, 37% a β-blocker, 13% an angiotensin converting enzyme inhibitor, 6% an aldosterone receptor blocker and 2% a centrally acting antihypertensive drug. Half of subjects had BP <140/80 mmHg, but only 21% achieved the individualized BP targets. Conclusions A considerable proportion of hypertensive patients do not achieve target BP values.