Hypertension in Adults Across Age Groups
- Dan R. Berlowitz, MD, MPG
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dberlow@bu.edu
Bedford VA Hospital
Bedford, Mass
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Memphis VA Medical Center
Memphis, Tenn
- Peter Glassman, MBBS, MSc
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VA Greater Los Angeles Healthcare System
Los Angeles, Calif
Since this article does not have an abstract, we have provided the first 150 words of the full text.
- KEYWORDS:
- DISEASE MANAGEMENT
- ELDERLY
- HYPERTENSION
To the Editor: Dr Lloyd-Jones and colleagues1 describe blood pressure control among patients with hypertension in the Framingham Heart Study cohort. While we strongly endorse their recommendation for improved hypertension treatment, particularly in the elderly, a limitation of this work is that it does not examine changes in blood pressure control over time.
Other studies, including those using data from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES) and the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA), have shown improvements in blood pressure control during the 1990s.2-3 Within the VA system, blood pressure control has continued to improve, and 2004 External Peer Review Program data from the Office of Quality and Performance4 show that levels in 67% of patients have blood pressure control with a systolic blood pressure under 140 mm Hg and diastolic blood pressure under 90 mm Hg, a marked improvement from 31% in the …
