Reconciling different measures of risk in the treatment of hypertension: a community-based study

Abstract

Background: There is disagreement as to how cardiovascular risk in hypertensive patients should be measured. In particular, whether absolute risk measurement alone is a realistic index on which to base treatment goals. Method: A cross-sectional study on 895 treated hypertensive patients in 18 general practices in the UK. Reporting on the distribution and magnitude of agespecific absolute risk. The percentage of individuals with controlled hypertension whose absolute risk exceeds their age/sex absolute risk standard and the percentage of individuals with uncontrolled hypertension whose risk is less than their age/sex absolute risk standard. Results: Overall, 62.8% (95% CI 59.6-66%) individuals had an absolute risk that exceeded 20% over 10 years. The magnitude of absolute risk was considerable (range