BMJ  2004;328 (24 January), doi:10.1136/bmj.328.7433.0-e

Hypertensive? See you every six months

Following up patients with controlled hypertension every six months will not affect blood pressure control, adherence, and patients' satisfaction. Birtwhistle and colleagues (p 204) conducted a randomised equivalence trial on 609 patients receiving medical treatment for essential hypertension, following them up every three or six months for three years. They found that control of blood pressure, patients' satisfaction, and adherence to treatment were similar, but 20% of patients in both groups had poor control of blood pressure during the study. Follow up interval may not be the most important factor in the control of hypertension by family practitioners, the authors say.

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Relevant Article

Randomised equivalence trial comparing three month and six month follow up of patients with hypertension by family practitioners

Richard V Birtwhistle, Marshall S Godwin, M Dianne Delva, R Ian Casson, Miu Lam, Susan E MacDonald, Rachelle Seguin, and Lucia Rühland
BMJ 2004 328: 204. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

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