Inadequate Blood Pressure Control in Hypertensive Patients Referred for Cardiac Stress Test

Abstract

The current study examined the degree of blood pressure (BP) control and incidence of myocardial ischemia in hypertensive patients (n=2039) referred for cardiac stress test. Patients were categorized into well-controlled (<140/90 mm Hg), poorly controlled (140-160/90-100 mm Hg), and very poorly controlled (>160/100 mm Hg) groups according to their resting BP. The mean age[±standard error of the mean] of the patients was 68±13 years, and 885 (43.4%) were men. The prevalence of well-controlled hypertension (HTN) was 47.2%, poorly controlled HTN was 29.5%, and very poorly controlled HTN was 23.3%. Evidence of ischemia was seen in 19.8% and 19.3% of the well-controlled and poorly controlled groups, respectively. The very poorly controlled group had the lowest incidence of ischemia (14.3%) (P