Patient adherence in the treatment of hypertension: the role of combination therapies.

摘要

Hypertension is the most prevalent cause of cardiovascular mortality and morbidity. Despite several investigations, new drugs and interventions to improve awareness of hypertension, the percentage of patients who reach adequate blood pressure (BP) levels around the world are not at the desired levels: BP control is 37% in USA [1] and 12-36% in European countries [101]. Low levels of patient adherence to and persistence with antihypertensive treatment cause poor BP control in a large proportion of patients [2].