Unmet Needs in Hypertension Treatment


Male healthcare worker wearing a white coat and mask checks the blood pressure of an elderly woman wearing a black mask. Using the most current definition of hypertension, systolic blood pressure (SBP) of 130 mmHg or more or diastolic blood pressure (DBP) of 80 mmHg or more, close to half of adults (47.3%) in the United States (US) had hypertension in 2013 to 2016.1 The prevalence of hypertension increases with age – from 28.2% in those 20 to 44 years of age, to 60.1% in individuals 45 to 64 years old, and 77.0% in those 65 years or older.1 Also alarming is that an estimated 10.3 million US adults have apparent treatment-resistant hypertension.2 The direct and indirect cost of hypertension is estimated to be $52.4 billion for 2016 to 2017.1 Hypertension ranks 10th in health expenditures among 154 health conditions.1

Videos on Demand

Unmet Needs in Hypertension Treatment Options

A mature adult woman of African descent is at a routine medical check. She is sitting on an examination table in a clinic. The nurse is using a blood pressure gauge to check the patient's blood pressure.

Presenter: Keith C. Ferdinand, MD, FACC, FAHA, FASPC, FNLA

Hypertension increases with age and treatment-resistant hypertension exists within the US population. Participants in this activity will learn about treatment options for patients with resistant hypertension, how to address healthcare disparities in treatment and management, and shared decision-making strategies to improve health equity.

Renal Denervation in the Treatment of Resistant Hypertension

stethoscope

Presenters: Sandra J. Taler, MD and Raymond R. Townsend, MD
Moderator:
Nirupama Ramkumar, MD

In this activity you will learn from experts in the field about treating resistant hypertensive patients using renal denervation. We will focus on patient selection, assessment, management, procedural considerations, and follow-up.

Supported by an education grant from Medtronic.

Resistant Hypertension Management Options

Photo of a digital blood pressure cuff and stethoscope, both resting on a piece of paper

Presenters: Vivek Bhalla, MD; Robert Carey, MD, MACP; Jordana Cohen, MD, MSCE
Moderator: Lydia Bazzano, MD, PhD

Contributing to a high prevalence of hypertension is suboptimal awareness and blood pressure (BP) control. The continual increase in high blood pressure and poor rates of control indicates the need for improved assessment and management of resistant hypertension. Resistant hypertension is blood pressure that remains above goal despite concurrent use of three or more BP lowering medications of differing drug classification. Launch this activity to learn more about resistant hypertension therapy options.

Shared Decision-Making and Hypertension Treatment

A female healthcare professional of color shares information on a sheet of paper with an older female white patient. Both women are wearing masks.

Presenters: Cheryl Dennison Himmelfarb, PhD, RN, ANP, FAHA; Giv Heidari-Bateni, MD
Moderator: Eunjoo An, PhD, RN

Shared decision-making has become a method to enhance patient involvement in health care decisions, patient-provider communication, and patient-centered care. When selecting the best hypertension management plan, your patients may have different goals and preferences for treatment. Adherence may be increased if the plan aligns with the patient’s preferences. In this webinar you will learn how to engage your patients and incorporate shared decision making into your practice. Barriers to implementing strategies will also be discussed.

Supported by an education grant from Medtronic.

Health Equity and Hypertension Treatment

Medical worker checking a woman's blood pressure, both wearing masks

Presenters: Keith Ferdinand, MD, FACC, FAHA, FASH, FNLA, John M. Flack, MD, MPH, FAHA, FASH, MACP, Karol Watson, MD, PhD
Moderator: Olethia Chisolm, MD

In this informative webinar, experts in the field will discuss healthcare disparities in hypertension treatment and management. Strategies will be presented to reach blood pressure control for all patients. With your help, patients with hypertension will see improved outcomes.

Supported by an education grant from Medtronic.

Podcasts

Listen to the education podcasts below.

Showcard for Unmet Needs in Hypertension Treatment Podcast

Drugs or Devices for the Resistant Hypertensive Patient

Renal denervation in the management of hypertension in adults has yet to be approved in the US, however, it is under FDA review. This procedure may be useful for adults with uncontrolled or resistant hypertension (triple drug therapy, one of which is a diuretic) and may be an option for patients unable to tolerate long-term medications at the necessary doses, or who cannot tolerate medications at all. With many factors to consider, hear a balanced discussion on this topic, as well as considerations from the patient perspective.

The Renaissance of Renal Denervation

Resistant hypertension affects twenty percent of all hypertensive patients. It is the source of much cardiovascular risk and its ultimate sequela. To this end innovative mechanisms of addressing this problem have and are being developed. One of these is renal denervation of the sympathetic system. Our guests on the podcast compare clinical studies and share success stories for treatment of resistant hypertensive patients.

Team-based Hypertension Care in the Clinic: A Success Story

Managing hypertension is complex as you consider aspects of taking multiple medications, lifestyle changes with diet and physical activity, and learning monitoring of blood pressure at home. As supported by guideline recommendations, team-based care among multidisciplinary healthcare professionals is important to optimize blood pressure control. Our discussion focuses on the experience at the Trinity Free Clinic in Carmel, Indiana in which a multidisciplinary team successfully manages patient hypertension.

Lifestyle: Decisions for Daily Life

Weight management, physical activity, and a heart-healthy diet are key behaviors in managing blood pressure and essential to lifelong good health. What role do clinicians play in shared decision-making discussions with hypertensive patients around daily lifestyle decisions? What steps can clinicians take in providing guideline informed hypertension management that is equitable? Listen as a cardiologist and two nephrologists share their experiences and consider how to help patients address behavior modification barriers for those living with hypertension.

Shared Decision-Making and Adherence

While patients may have different goals and preferences for treatment, which can make selecting the best hypertension management plan difficult, adherence may be increased if the plan aligns with the patient’s preferences. What approaches in shared decision-making may improve adherence?

In this episode clinicians and a patient discuss changes in terminology when talking about patient compliance to the use of adherence and non-adherence. These changes are part of the larger shift to shared decision-making in patient care. Listen and learn how to employ shared decision-making across a range of care settings.

Home Blood Pressure Monitoring with Clinical Support

Home blood pressure monitoring is informative but inaccessible for some outside of strengthened clinical support. Current guidelines comprehensively address how to define, measure, and treat high blood pressure, and yet hypertension management in special patient populations has not been systematically addressed. Listen and learn how clinicians can utilize shared decision-making to better engage patients in their health care and support improved health equity.

Spotlight Series

Logo American Heart Association's Spotlight SeriesComplimentary CE presentations, delivered by AHA experts at hospital grand rounds nationwide, covering the newest, evidence-based measures to prevent cardiovascular disease, the #1 killer of men and women in the US.

Here’s an overview of the Spotlight Series:

Why: Educating your team on the latest science and guidelines can improve patient care and outcomes.

How: Spotlight Series offers free case-based presentations that give powerful evidence-based practices to your team.

Who: Physicians, nurses, pharmacists and other health care professionals.

When: You decide. We seek 45 days of lead time but will try to fulfill your request based on speaker availability.

Where: Anyplace you hold a hospital grand rounds type session.

What: Unmet Needs in Hypertension Treatment

Comprehensive Guide on Hypertension

The Comprehensive Guide on Hypertension now includes two new sections on team-based care and home blood pressure monitoring! This extensive curriculum also includes updated information on pathophysiology, diagnosis, treatment, and prevention of hypertension for all members of the health care team.

Doctor reviewing labs with patient

The Need for Improved Assessment and Management of Hypertension

A female home healthcare worker checks a man's blood pressure.Contributing to a high prevalence of hypertension is suboptimal awareness and blood pressure control. More than one-third of US adults (38.8%) are not aware they have hypertension.1 Although awareness of hypertension has improved in the last 2 decades, data from 2015-2018 indicate that only 50.4% of adults with hypertension are receiving treatment, and only 21.6% have their blood pressure controlled.1 Awareness, treatment, and control of high blood pressure differs by race/ethnicity, with Mexican American males having the lowest prevalence of awareness, treatment, or control.1 The continual increase in high blood pressure prevalence indicates the need for improved assessment and management of hypertension.

References

  1. Virani SS, Alonso A, Aparicio HJ, et al. Heart Disease and Stroke Statistics-2021 Update: A Report From the American Heart Association. Circulation. 2021: CIR0000000000000950.
     
  2. Carey RM, Sakhuja S, Calhoun DA, et al. Prevalence of Apparent Treatment-Resistant Hypertension in the United States. Hypertension. 2019;73(2):424-431.

This program is supported by an independent medical educational grant from Medtronic.