Use of antihypertensive drugs among community hypertensive patients in Shanghai

Objective To investigate use of oral antihypertensive drugs among community hypertensive patients in Shanghai and find out factors related to their unreasonable use to direct their clinical use. Methods Seven hundred and three hypertensive patients were surveyed with questionnaire by stratified cluster sampling at three neighborhoods and one village of Dahua community, Baoshan district, Shanghai during April to June 2009 to understand their use of antihypertensive agents, including kinds and forms of drugs, rationale of drug use. Results Five hundred and eighty-two (82. 8% ) of 703 hypertensive patients interviewed were using antihypertensive drugs, 271 (38. 5% ) of them used only one kind of non-compound antihypertensive drug, 182 (25.9%) used one kind of compound agent, 311 (53.4%) used two or more kinds of drugs in combination, including 117 patients ( 16. 8% ) used two kinds of agents combined and 12 patients ( 1.6% ) used three kinds of agents combined. Two hundred and sixty-six (47.5%) patients took orally calcium-channel blockers and 205 ( 35.2% ) used compound agents. Conclusions Frequency of combined use of two or more kinds of antihypertensive agents is reasonable and significantly higher than that of use of one kind of drug at Dahua community in Shanghai. Calcium channel blocker plays a predominant role in treatment for hypertension, non-long-acting compound agents are used in a higher proportion. But,guidelines for hypertension prevention and treatment are not so well complied with in local hypertensive patients. So, it is suggested that training for community physicians and management for standard use of antihypertensive agents at community should be strengthened further.