Abbildung 33: Hypertonie - Behandlung
Patients prescribed ARBs as their initial medication are more likely to persist with treatment than patients prescribed other classes of antihypertensive medication. This study followed 14,062 newly-diagnosed hypertensives for 273 days.1 The slide shows the percentage of patients who received initial monotherapy and did not discontinue (i.e. did not stop medication or switch to another class) within the 9-month follow-up. Patients who continued their monotherapy but added an agent from another class were considered to be persistent. Since drugs were provided free by the Italian Health Service, the cost of medication is unlikely to have contributed to the discontinuation rates. 1. Esposti LD et al. Pharmacoeconomics of antihypertensive drug treatment: an analysis of how long patients remain on various antihypertensive therapies. J Clin Hypertens 2004; 6: 76–84.