Department of Pharmacology and Therapeutics, Trinity Centre for Health Sciences, St James's Hospital, Dublin, Ireland.
Ir J Med Sci. 2009 Dec;178(4):413-7. doi: 10.1007/s11845-009-0367-8. Epub 2009 Oct 17.
Hypertension is the commonest medical condition in Ireland.
(1) To examine the level of awareness of blood pressure (BP) in the population and (2) to ascertain the opinion of general practitioners (GPs) in diagnosis and management of hypertension.
BP measurements and assessment of BP awareness were performed in a sub-sample of the general population (n = 1,071). The opinion of GPs (n = 1,037) on hypertension was determined in a postal survey.
Amongst the population sampled (45 ± 13 years, mean age ± SD), almost half had elevated BP (>140/90 mmHg) but only half of those were already on antihypertensives. 40% had no knowledge of their BP and 54% were not aware of what constituted normal BP. While some 80% of GPs said they followed British guidelines, their practice was more in keeping with the European guidelines. Approximately, 90% of GPs required ambulatory BP recording to confirm diagnosis of hypertension. First choice antihypertensive agents were ACE inhibitors and angiotensin receptor antagonists in younger patients and diuretics and ACE inhibitors in older patients.
These results suggest that there is a need for further public education on BP and nationally agreed hypertension guidelines.
高血压是爱尔兰最常见的疾病。
(1) 检查人群中血压（BP）的知晓率，(2) 确定全科医生（GP）在高血压诊断和管理方面的意见。
在普通人群的子样本（n = 1071）中进行 BP 测量和 BP 知晓率评估。通过邮寄调查确定全科医生（n = 1037）对高血压的看法。
在所抽取的人群中（平均年龄 ± 标准差为 45 ± 13 岁），近一半人的血压升高（>140/90mmHg），但只有一半人已经服用了降压药。40%的人不知道自己的血压，54%的人不知道什么是正常血压。尽管大约 80%的全科医生表示他们遵循英国指南，但他们的实践更符合欧洲指南。大约 90%的全科医生需要进行动态血压监测以确认高血压的诊断。年轻患者的首选降压药物是 ACE 抑制剂和血管紧张素受体拮抗剂，老年患者的首选降压药物是利尿剂和 ACE 抑制剂。
这些结果表明，需要进一步进行公众教育，普及 BP 知识和制定全国性的高血压指南。
