From research and guidelines to the consultation: five ways to improve blood pressure management in clinical practice

Nelson, Mark R

doi:10.5694/j.1326-5377.2009.tb02707.x

Topics

General medicine

Cardiovascular diseases

Statistics, epidemiology and research design

How you can use the evidence to improve your patients’ outcomes

The most recent edition of Heart Foundation guidelines for the management of hypertension is an evidence-based and practical guide for doctors.1 It is self-evident that clinical guidelines need to be used by doctors if they are to improve population health outcomes. Despite publication of multiple editions of the hypertension guidelines, blood pressure (BP) control in Australia is less than ideal.2 The reasons for this are varied, and include health system, doctor and patient factors.3

Menzies Research Institute, University of Tasmania, Hobart, TAS.

Correspondence: Mark.Nelson@utas.edu.au

Competing interests:

I have participated in trials funded by SmithKline Beecham, AstraZeneca, Bayer, Sanofi-Aventis, Merck Sharp and Dohme, Pfizer, Servier Laboratories and Bristol-Myers Squibb; served on advisory boards for Sanofi-Aventis, Novartis, Schering-Plough and Solvay Pharmaceuticals; prepared educational material for Servier Laboratories, AstraZeneca and Bristol-Myers Squibb; and received conference and travel support from Bayer HealthCare and Sanofi-Aventis.

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