evaluation of arterial hypertension control in family practice in slovenia

Objective: We performed a study on almost 20,000 Slovene patients with arterial hypertension (AH) to evaluate age- and gender-dependent blood pressure control, differences in the rate of AH control in the period 2002–2008, and to validate a potential impact of selected quality indicators on blood pressure control.

Methods: The study was conducted as a part of the “Quality of Healthcare in Slovenia” project, in agreement with the National Medical Ethics Committee of the Republic of Slovenia. Appropriate statistical analyses were performed and the results evaluated.

Results: Arterial hypertension control was relatively high (55.8 %, 95 % CI: 55.1–56.5) in the period 2002–2008 and improved significantly during that period. Based on our statistical model, the improved AH control in year 2006 compared to 2002 is particularly due to lower initial blood pressure values before treatment. Uncontrolled AH was largely attributed to uncontrolled systolic blood pressure. We found positive association between AH control and the frequency of blood pressure control in less than six-month time intervals.

Conclusions: According to our results, AH control in family practice in Slovenia is relatively high compared to other European countries, but the results refer only to patients visiting their family medicine physicians.