You are on page 1of 3

Running head: HYPERTENSION

Hypertension
Salena Barnes
Georgia College and State University

Running head: HYPERTENSION

2
Hypertension

Hypertension also known as the silent killer due to its asymptomatic nature is a common
primary diagnosis amongst the United States population. This chronic disease affects seventyeight million individuals in the United States and approximately one million globally.
Uncontrolled hypertension places individuals at risk for select target organ disease such as the
brain, heart, kidneys, and eyes. Thus, placing the patient at risk for deleterious diseases such as
myocardial infarction, stroke, heart failure, and kidney disease.
The objective of the retrospective cohort research selected for this topic is to explore a
number of medical variables that play a vital role, as well as to determine how it relates to
uncontrolled hypertension amongst a large diverse population of patients (Elperin, Pelter,
Deamer, & Burchette, 2014). The study analyzed variables such as ethnicity/race, diabetes
mellitus, Framingham coronary heart disease risk, insurance status, and antihypertensive
medications. Recognizing these variables and how they relate to uncontrolled hypertension could
decrease comorbidities, as well as decrease morbidity and mortality. Moreover, identification of
crucial variables could lead to target specific treatment amid diverse populations, decrease the
number of medications the patient is taking, therefore, enhancing medication compliance
(Elperin et al., 2014).
Approximately 835,465 patients with a diagnosis of hypertension were identified in the
medical record database of a large integrated healthcare system (Elperin et al., 2014). Of these
661,075 (107,016 uncontrolled hypertensive patients and 554,059 with controlled hypertension)
were identified by a systolic blood pressure greater than or equal to 140 mmHg and/or diastolic
blood pressure greater than or equal to 90 mmHg. The observation and analysis of these
variables exposed that patients with a Patient Health Questionnaire-9 score greater than or equal

Running head: HYPERTENSION

to 10, African Americans, unpartnered, and those that are medication noncompliant were notably
associated with experiencing uncontrolled hypertension (Elperin et al., 2014).
I found this research helpful in that it sheds light on the fact that sociodemographic
factors and clinical influences are associated with uncontrolled hypertension. As a primary health
provider, being mindful of these risk factors aids in education, proper treatment of the patient, as
well as assessing patients for these factors. This knowledge will aid in proper treatment, thus
reducing the morbidities and decrease mortality associated with hypertension.
References

Elperin, D. T., Pelter, M. A., Deamer, R. L., & Burchette, R. J. (2014). A large cohort study
evaluating risk factors associated with uncontrolled hypertension. Journal Of Clinical
Hypertension, 16(2), 149-154. doi: 10.1111/jch.12259

You might also like