• Special Issue Topic

    Drug Adherence in Hypertension

    Submission Deadline: December 31, 2024

    Guest Editor

    Prof. Sverre E. Kjeldsen E-Mail

    Professor, University of Oslo, Norway


    About the Special Issue

    Major fractions of people who have been diagnosed with hypertension remain with uncontrolled high blood pressure. Causes include inertia, a term used to characterize a situation in which physicians do not prescribe or up-titrate antihypertensive medication when there is a clear indication. Alternatively, patients themselves poorly follow advice to take their antihypertensive medications, more drugs or higher doses when recommended. There are several methods in use to investigate drug adherence, some of which are much better than others. Self-reports and questionnaires are in general poor methods to investigate and clarify the degree of poor drug adherence. Pill counts have been used in major outcomes studies but depend on patients not on purpose throwing away pills removed from the package. Electronic systems are in use and may have improved the registration of drug adherence, registering the opening of the pill box caps or the passage of pills through the gastrointestinal system. Direct observed treatment (DOT) in an indirect method can be used under observation. Drug measurements in body fluids, usually urine or blood, are gathering momentum. The usefulness of drug measurements to a certain degree depends on patients being unaware of measurements being done to avoid “white coat adherence”. Drug adherence is a major topic for research, and progress in this field is moving rapidly ahead.

    Keywords: antihypertensive treatment, blood pressure, hypertension, inertia, pharmacotherapy

    Published Articles

    Open Access
    Mini Review
    Hypertension management and treatment adherence in patients on permanent hemodialysis therapy
    Hypertension (HTN) is connected to many complications such as stroke, heart attack, heart failure, and kidney damage. Aging, lifestyle modifications, and obesity are risk factors associated with art [...] Read more.
    Vaia Raikou, Sotiris Gavriil
    Published: November 19, 2024 Explor Med. 2024;5:870–879
    DOI: https://doi.org/10.37349/emed.2024.00261
    View:557
    Download:15
    Times Cited: 0
    Open Access
    Original Article
    Analysis of medication adherence of chronic hypertensive patients in Pakistani community via open survey method
    Aim: Hypertension, a prevalent chronic condition, significantly contributes to cardiovascular diseases worldwide. Effective management of hypertension is highly dependent on patient adherence to  [...] Read more.
    Sameen Abbas ... Sohail Kamran
    Published: October 23, 2024 Explor Med. 2024;5:674–683
    DOI: https://doi.org/10.37349/emed.2024.00248
    View:767
    Download:18
    Times Cited: 0