Education and self-education of the patients is an important step towards increasing patients acceptance of therapy

Abstract

The blood pressure level control and the long-term administration of anti-hypertensive agents are of high priority and play key role in treatment of patients with hypertension in the outpatient setting. This paper analyzes the short-term and long-term results of the education of patients with AH in a patient's School, and the effectiveness of the education concerning acceptance of therapy among these category of patients.Aim. To analyze received knowledge of the patients with arterial hypertension associated with LVH at patient's School compared to the control group and the study of the degree of patients acceptance of therapy and quality of life of both group of patients during the study.Material and methods. We underwent 13 cycles of education (course of education lessons with duration of 6 weeks, lessons 1 time per week). Topics and the duration of lessons (90 minutes), as well as the number of patients enrolled in the groups (8-10 people), corresponding to norms approved by the Ministry of Health of the Russian Federation. We educated 128 patients with AH (there were 66 patients with AH with out association with LVH and 27 patients, associated with LVH). The control group consisted of 65 patients with AH who had refused toattend patient's School for various reasons (41 patients without association with LVH and 24-associated with LVH).The Groups of patients educated/failed the education were matched by sex, age, duration of AH, BMI, levels of SBP and DBP. Instrumental and laboratory studies (general clinical examination, ECG, biochemical analysis of blood) were underwent before the treatment, at the end of the education cycle and in 24-months of outpatient treatment.Results. Patients who had been educated at the patient's School showed the statistically significant reduction of the BP level. In the end of School the systolic BP was 139,3±7,4 mm Hg and the diastolic BP - 86,2±5,4 mm Hg (p=0,0001). Patients in the control group also showed statistically significant reduction of BP during last visit, however, the degree of BP reduction in this group was statistically significant lower. The target BP was observed in 79% in the first group of patients and 54% in the second group of patients (p=0,003). Dynamics of the quality of life, estimated by the visual analog scale (VAS) was statistically significant higher in the group of patients, attending School (p=0,001). Acceptance of therapy among patients who had been visiting the School, significantly increased, but the statistically significant changes in acceptance of therapy in the second group of patients were not observed. Questioning and examination of the patients one year later, showed that in the group of patients who had received one cycle of education in the School, the BP level remained statistically significant below the basal value (SBP 142,3±5,7 and DBP 88,5±4,3 mm Hg, p