• Girish Chandrakant Rajadhyaksha, Himanshu Reddy, Amresh Kumar Singh, Abraham Oomman, and Srilakshmi Mandayam Adhyapak.
• Department of Medicine, Topiwala National Medical College & B. Y. L. Nair Charitable Hospital, Mumbai, Maharashtra, India.
• Indian J Med Res. 2023 Sep 1; 158 (3): 244255244-255.

Background & ObjectivesIn India, hypertension constitutes a significant health burden. This observational, non-interventional, prospective study was conducted in five centres across India to evaluate the current clinical practices for the management of hypertension.MethodsParticipants were enrolled if they were newly diagnosed with essential hypertension or had pre-existing hypertension and were on the same therapeutic plan for the previous three months. At baseline, three months, six months, and one year, information on the patient and their treatment regimen was documented, and their quality of life (QoL) was evaluated.ResultsA total of 2000 individuals were enrolled in this study, with a mean age of 54.45 yr. Of these, 55.7 per cent (n=1114) were males, and 957 (47.85%) were newly diagnosed with hypertension, while 1043 (52.15%) had pre-existing hypertension. Stage 2 hypertension (systolic blood pressure (BP) >140 or diastolic BP ≥90 mmHg) accounted for more than 70 per cent of the participants (70.76% of pre-existing and 76.29% of newly diagnosed); the average duration of pre-existing hypertension was 68.72 months. Diabetes (31.6%) and dyslipidaemia (15.8%) were the most common comorbidities. In 43.3 per cent of the participants, monotherapy was used, and in 56.7 per cent (70.55% fixed-dose combination), combination therapy was used. Telmisartan (31.6%), amlodipine (35.2%), and a combination of the two (27.1%) were the most commonly prescribed treatment regimens. At three months, six months, and one year, treatment modifications were observed in 1.4, 1.05, and 0.23 per cent of the participants receiving monotherapy and 2.74, 4.78 and 0.35 per cent receiving combination therapy, respectively. In both groups, the proportion of individuals with controlled hypertension (≤140/90 mmHg) increased by more than 30 per cent after a year. At one year, physical and emotional role functioning, social functioning, and health improved considerably.Interpretation & ConclusionsCombination therapy for hypertension is increasingly preferred at the time of initial diagnosis. The efficacy, safety, and tolerance of the recommended medications were reflected by improvements in the QoL and the minimal changes in the therapeutic strategy required.

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