Prevalence of isolated systolic hypertension (ISH) in Slovene hypertensive patients: insights from the "Quality of Healthcare in Slovenia" project

Objectives The aim of the present study was mainly to evaluate age-and gender-dependent isolated systolic hypertension (ISH) prevalence before and during antihypertensive treatment, and to evaluate pulse pressure (PP) distributions during antihypertensive treatment in almost 20,000 Slovene hypertensive patients. Methods The study was conducted as 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 and evaluations were performed. Results The prevalence of ISH before the treatment was 19.6 % (17.0 % for men and 21.4 % for women) and it was significantly (p <0.001) higher during the treatment (29.6 %; 26.4 % for men and 31.9 % for women). The mean PP before the treatment for the whole study patient sample was (71.2 +/- 16.9) mmHg and was significantly (p <0.001) reduced during the treatment to (57.4 +/- 12.5) mmHg. Conclusion With regard to high ISH in treated Slovene hypertensive patients, quality of ISH control may not be optimal and should be improved. On the other hand, the adequate arterial hypertension (AH) control (systolic blood pressure (SBP) <140 mmHg and diastolic blood pressure (DBP) <90 mmHg) was achieved in 55.6 % of patients. Our observations may have useful therapeutic implications in the management of AH, particularly ISH in the elderly.