Trends in Prescription Fills for Blood Pressure-Elevating and Antihypertensive Medications, 2017–2023

Background Many medications can have blood pressure (BP)-elevating effects, which might negatively impact BP control among persons with hypertension. This study examines trends in prescription fills for BP-elevating and antihypertensive medications, individually and concurrently, among US individuals. Methods Quarterly trends of concurrent and individual fills for BP-elevating and antihypertensive medications were reported using the national sample from IQVIA’s Total Patient Tracker database, covering 94% of all retail prescription fills in the US. We identified 1,387 products containing BP-elevating medications and 240 products containing antihypertensive medications. Percentage change from Q1/2017 and average quarterly percent change from Joinpoint regression were used to present trends overall and by sex and age group (0–17, 18–44, 45–64, 65–74, and ≥75 years). Results During 2017–2023, fills remained stable for BP-elevating medications alone and increased for antihypertensive medication alone (9.5% increase; from 10.1% to 11.0%; p<0.001). Concurrent fills for antihypertensive and BP-elevating medications increased by 15.9% (from 5.4% to 6.2%; p<0.001). Prescription fills for BP-elevating medications were higher among adult women compared to men; among women aged 18 to 44 years, this was primarily due to the use of combined oral contraceptives. In Q4/2023, prescription fills for BP-elevating medications were most common among those aged 65–74 years (females=30.7% vs males = 20.4%). Conclusions These results provide the first national trends in concurrent prescription fills for BP-elevating and antihypertensive medications, indicating an increasing trend. Our findings might inform clinicians in their decision-making regarding medication selection for patients with hypertension.