THERAPEUTIC COMPLIANCE IN HYPERTENSIVE PATIENTS: A CROSS SECTIONAL STUDY

Abstract

Objective: The improvement of medication compliance is a necessity for a better management of arterial hypertension (AH), especially in cardiac patients, with a high risk of progression to heart failure. We aim to evaluate the level of therapeutic compliance in hypertensive patients followed in cardiology consultation, and to seek the factors related to a bad compliance. Design and method: Through a descriptive and cross-sectional epidemiological study, we evaluated the therapeutic compliance of 154 hypertensive patients treated for 6 months, using a questionnaire called the compliance evaluation test to define patients with good therapeutic compliance, those with minimal compliance problems and those with poor compliance. The factors of poor compliance were sought in univariate analysis and then in multivariate analysis Results: In our hypertensive population, the compliance evaluation test showed 34.8% of patients with good compliance, 46.8% with minimal compliance problem and 18.4% with poor compliance to antihypertensive treatment. Poor compliance was associated with older age, male sex, lack of health insurance, and low education. But in multivariate analysis, only the presence of complications was an independent risk factor for poor compliance. Conclusions: Our study showed low adherence to antihypertensive therapy, particularly among those who already have complications from hypertension. Our health care system needs to develop a management plan that addresses our own determinants of adherence to improve adherence to antihypertensive medications.