Via practica 2/2020

Innovative forms of postgraduate education – example of better control of blood pressure

Elevated systolic blood pressure is an important risk factor of cardiovascular morbidity and mortality. Guideline directed hypertension treatment can reduce this risk. This paper will show us that a good and repeatedly practiced educations of primary care physicians can improve diagnostic and treatment of hypertensive patients. Swedish experience seems to be very good here, they compared two geographical areas of Sweden, and in one area there were educational activities and not in another one. Results (24 months´ follow-up of great cohorts of patients) were as follows: systolic blood pressure was reduced in both geographical areas, but more in the area where educational practices happend (147 at the beginning and 137.7 mmHg at the end versus 147.3 at the beginning and 140.1 mmHg at the end) and a control of blood pressure was 37.8 % in the area with educational activities and it was 29.4 % in the control area (no educational activities there). Good educational activities for primary physicians can improve treatment of hypertensive patients. We can assume that by blood pressure control we can later on reduce the incidence of cardiovascular events in these patients.

Keywords: treatment of hypertension, education of primary physician about hypertension, blood pressure control