One doctor's 25-year experience of β-blocker treatment to the same group of hypertensive women

Abstract

Objective - To assess the importance of long-term doctor-patient relationship, and to assess the effect of long-term treatment with β- blockers of hypertensive women. Design - A 25-year follow-up study of hypertensive women, compared with participants in a prospective population study of women of the same age. Setting - Gothenburg, Sweden. Subjects -57 hypertensive women and 1462 participants in the population study. Results - The women's blood pressure was well-controlled over the years, and no serious side-effects occurred. There was no increased mortality in these groups of hypertensive women compared with women in the general population of the same age. Conclusions - The favourable effects over the years with respect to the management of blood pressure and survival indicate the beneficial effect of a stable doctor-patient relationship and the beneficial long-term effect of β- blockers as a base for antihypertensive treatment.