Research published in the American Heart Association’s (AMA) Hypertension indicates declining hypertension control among the United States population in recent years. According to the paper, authored by AMA’s Brent Egan, Jiexiang Li, Susan Sutherland, Michael Rakotz and Gregory Wozniak, high blood pressure management increased from 1999 to 2000 and also from 2009 to 2010, plateaued during 2009 to 2014, then fell during 2015 to 2018, a trend the researchers describe as a significant decline.
As reported by Health IT Analytics, Egan suggests that the quality of hypertension care may be deteriorating as physicians are tasked with treating a multitude of chronic conditions. “It’s extremely difficult to manage all these conditions in a 15-minute visit,” says the lead author. His research team calls for new approaches to care that are efficient and involve more self-monitoring, as well as public health campaigns to educate patients on hypertension. Additionally, they explain race and socioeconomic factors that contribute to inequitable access to high quality health care are perpetuating this population health issue.
AHA advises physicians to recommend patients undergo regular blood pressure checks, limit alcohol, quit smoking and eat a balanced diet in order to get blood pressure to a healthy level.
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