How to implement individualized strategies in the treatment of hypertension

  Hypertension is a heterogeneous disease whose onset is influenced by regional, racial, and genetic factors, and different habits and lifestyles make the clinical characteristics of different hypertensive patients different. Therefore, the treatment process should be based on hypertension characteristics to find a treatment plan and propose a treatment strategy.  The intensity of blood pressure control in hypertensive patients should be individualized.  Attempts have been made for decades to improve the attainment rate by adjusting antihypertensive drugs and intensive treatment. Can improved blood pressure control rates be achieved by changing treatment regimens? It has also been found that blood pressure control rates may vary with similar treatment regimens, which is more attributable to different blood pressure management. Therefore, blood pressure control is not only about the choice of drug regimen, but also about effective blood pressure management.  Although the Chinese Guidelines for the Prevention and Treatment of Hypertension 2010 recommends that blood pressure should be controlled below 130/80 mmHg in high-risk patients with diabetes, renal disease and coronary artery disease, and below 140/90 mmHg in patients with stroke. However, recently this recommendation has been questioned to varying degrees. Studies, represented by ACCORD and INVEST, have shown limited clinical benefit and increased risk in high-risk hypertensive patients with diabetes or coronary artery disease if blood pressure control is too low under intensive therapy. These studies challenge the notion that blood pressure control needs to be lower in high-risk hypertensive patients, and therefore individualized blood pressure control is needed in high-risk populations. The emphasis on intensive pharmacotherapy alone, while improving control rates, has not shown an advantage in improving clinical prognosis. This further suggests that effective blood pressure management has many more connotations than just achieving the target.  How to achieve a more desirable level of blood pressure How to implement individualized strategies In general, the target blood pressure for hypertensive patients should be <140/90 mmHg. The Chinese Guidelines for the Prevention and Treatment of Hypertension 2010 and the US Guidelines for the Treatment of Adult Hypertension (JNC7) both suggest that individualized treatment should be adopted based on the number of risk factors and that the pros and cons of blood pressure control should be considered comprehensively based on the economic benefit ratio. Current studies show that in low- and middle-income countries, some reduction in food salt intake is beneficial in reducing cardiovascular events and lowering the price of treatment. Diagnostic and therapeutic options should be evaluated and selected based on the economic benefit ratio. In terms of diagnostic methods for hypertension, the most expensive test is not the best test, and the most expensive drug is not the most appropriate drug. The selection of needs should be individualized according to the situation of different regions, countries with different economic status and patients.  For example, in the United States, where blacks have a high prevalence of obesity and left ventricular hypertrophy, a basic low-economic test should be an electrocardiogram, which can be used to assess the presence of left ventricular hypertrophy, while the use of brain natriuretic peptide (BNP) to determine cardiac function is obviously not very realistic. High salt intake and stroke are common in Asian populations, and the easiest treatment is intensive lifestyle (salt restriction), CCB and diuretics are the first recommendation, and slow-release and long-acting CCB drugs are commonly used clinically and have a good economic benefit ratio. In economically developed countries in Europe and the United States, hypertension is mostly associated with diabetes and hyperlipidemia. When economic conditions allow, cardiovascular risk should be properly assessed, target blood pressure should be determined, and multiple drug combinations are needed, also taking into account risk factors, while paying attention to the cost-effectiveness ratio and implementing interventions for individuals at high cardiovascular risk.  Individualized treatment should pay attention to the connotation of blood pressure management 1, pay attention to blood pressure monitoring, all-weather blood pressure control is one of the connotations of blood pressure management Numerous clinical trials have confirmed that all-weather blood pressure control is conducive to reducing the occurrence of cardiovascular and cerebrovascular events. Based on this, in 2011, the Chinese Hypertension Consortium issued the "Chinese Blood Pressure Measurement Guidelines", the Chinese Physicians Association's Professional Committee on Hypertension issued the "Chinese Expert Consensus on Home Blood Pressure Monitoring", and the British National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence (NICE) guidelines include 24-hour ambulatory blood pressure monitoring as one of the blood pressure diagnostic criteria. The above consensus and guidelines aim to emphasize that the whole process of blood pressure control should be done under blood pressure monitoring. We need to carefully improve the blood pressure diagnosis method to screen people who have true hypertension and need good blood pressure control.  2. Simplification and optimization of treatment is the easy way to treat hypertension According to community statistics, the adherence of hypertensive patients to 2-year continuous treatment can be reduced by 50%. Improving treatment compliance and increasing the continuity of treatment for hypertensive patients is an important part of hypertension treatment. The use of single tablet fixed compound has the advantage of improving efficacy, reducing adverse effects and improving patient compliance.  3. Selecting the most appropriate therapeutic target and improving the connotation of blood pressure management It is important to select the best therapeutic target in the treatment of hypertensive patients. Various disease-related guidelines provide possible therapeutic targets for hypertension treatment. Since poor long-term control of blood pressure can lead to cardiovascular, cerebrovascular and other macrovascular events. Therefore, the treatment of hypertension should follow the standard treatment principles of ABCD. a: Antithrombotic therapy (10-year cardiovascular risk >10% if tolerated by the patient) should receive low-dose aspirin; b: Blood pressure reduction to achieve the target (blood pressure should be <140/90 mmHg); c: Lipid modulation therapy [low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C) <3.37 mmol/L]; d. Blood glucose control (glycosylated hemoglobin should be <7%). The control of several indicators in individual patients should be fully considered under standard treatment to achieve the target.  The development of hypertension increases the clinical risk of patients, and the treatment of hypertension should be based on risk assessment to achieve a shift in the strategy of hypertension prevention and treatment. Individualization includes individualization of blood pressure targets, individualization of clinical treatment, and individualization of comprehensive management, and the combination of evidence-based medicine as a treatment template and individualized protocols will lead to better blood pressure attainment.