Therapeutic Adherence According to the Morisky Scale in Patients with Hypertension

Abstract Background In view of the high prevalence of hypertension and the importance of adequate drug therapy in the prevention of complications, it is necessary to know the adherence to drug treatment in this population. Objective To verify adherence to antihypertensive drug treatment in Brazilian patients with hypertension using the Morisky-Green Test (MGT), relating it with demographic data. Methods Prospective, observational, multicenter, national registry study, with 2,578 hypertensive patients participating in study I, the Brazilian Cardiovascular Registry of Arterial Hypertension (I-RBH), recruited in the five regions of Brazil. The analyses carried out on the data were descriptive statistics, qui-square tests, ANOVA, and logistic regression, adopting 5% as the significance level for the tests. Results The research shows that 56.13% of patients in the sample were female; 56.71% were elderly (≥ 65 years); 55.86% were White; 52.37% were from the Southeast Region; and 59.74% were non-adherent. Logistic regression showed an independent relationship between patients' age, ethnicity, and region with medication adherence. Conclusion Adherence to treatment is the key to reducing high rates of cardiovascular complications. The study brings a successful outcome in the relationship between the factors ethnicity, age, and region of patients with hypertension and medication adherence. To this end, it is necessary to understand these factors, considering systematic evaluation in the care of patients with hypertension and other chronic non-communicable diseases. This study is a significant contribution to multidisciplinary teams, as it highlights which risk factors interfere with medication adherence, incorporating better strategies in health education.

Estudo multicêntrico brasileiro de avaliaçäo da eficácia e tolerabilidade de trandolapril na hipertensäo arterial essencial leve a moderada: EMBATHE subestudo com monitorizaçäo arterial de pressäo arterial / Brazilian multicenter study on efficacy and tolerability of trandolapril in mild-to-moderate essential arterial hypertension: EMBATHE substudy with ambulatory blood pressure monitoring

Objective - A double-blind, placebo-controlled multi-center study involving 34 centers from different Brazilian regions was performed to evaluate the antihypertensive efficacy and tolerability of trandolapril, an angiotensil I converting enzyme inhibitor, in the treatment of mild-tomoderate systemic arterial hypertension. Methods - Of 262 patients enrolled in this study, 127 were treated with trandolapril 2 mg/day for 8 consecutive weeks, and the remaining 135 patients received placebo for the same period of time. Reduction in blood pressure (BP) and the occurrence of adverse events during this period were evaluated in both groups. Results - Significant reductions in both systolic and diastolic pressures were observed in patients treated with trandolapril when compared with those on placebo. Antihypertensive efficacy was achieved in 57.5 per cent of the patients on trandolapril and in 42 per cent of these normal values of BP were obtained. The efficancy of trandolapril was similar in all centers, regardless of the area of the country. In a subset of 30 patients who underwent ABPM, responders showed a significant hypotensive effect to trandolapril throughout the 24 hour day. The adverse event profile was similar in both trandolapril and placebo groups.