PharmacoEconomics & Outcomes News 265 - 3 Jun 2000

Opinions differ on thresholds forantihypertensive therapy

The treatment of hypertension involves a combinationof evidence with judgements regarding risk, but thesejudgements differ between groups of people, says DrNick Steel from the University of East Anglia, Norwich,UK.

Dr Steel conducted a survey of consultant physicians,general practitioners, general practice nurses andmembers of the public asking whether they would takeantihypertensives if 1 life would be saved for every 12,33, 50, 100 or 250 people treated for 5 years. Themedian values for thresholds chosen by consultantphysicians, general practitioners, nurses and the publicwere 100, 50, 33 and 33 people treated, respectively;the between-group differences were significant.

Dr Steel notes that the British Hypertension Society’s1999 guidelines recommend that initiation of treatmentbe based on risk rather than BP, and says that ‘this willencourage doctors to make explicit judgements of risk’.However, Dr Steel adds that ‘clinicians should notassume that their patients and professional colleaguesare likely to share their opinion whether treatment forhypertension is worth while’.Steel N. Thresholds for taking antihypertensive drugs in different professional andlay groups: questionnaire survey. BMJ 320: 1446-1447, 27 May 2000 800820581

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PharmacoEconomics & Outcomes News 3 Jun 2000 No. 2651173-5503/10/0265-0001/$14.95 Adis © 2010 Springer International Publishing AG. All rights reserved