Detection and treatment of hypertension in general health-care practice: a patient-based study

Hypertension management initiative prospective cohort study: comparison between immediate and delayed intervention groups

The Heart and Stroke Foundation of Ontario's Hypertension Management Initiative (HMI) was a pragmatic implementation of clinical practice guidelines for hypertension management in primary care clinics. The HMI was a prospective delayed phase cohort study of 11 sites enrolling patients in two blocks starting 9 months apart in 2007. The intervention was an evidence-informed chronic disease management program consisting of an interprofessional educational intervention with practice tools to implement the Canadian Hypertension Education Program's clinical practice guidelines. This study compares the change in blood pressure (BP) from baseline to 9 months after the intervention between groups. In the immediate intervention group, the mean BP at baseline was 134.6/79.1 mm Hg (18.2/11.5) and in the delayed intervention group 134.2/77.1 mm Hg (18.9/11.8). The fall in BP in the immediate intervention group from baseline to 9 months after the intervention was 7.3/3.6 mm Hg (95% confidence interval (CI): 5.9-8.7/2.6-4.5) and in the delayed group 8.1/3.3 mm Hg (95% CI: 7.0-9.3/2.5-4.1) (all P<0.0001 were compared from baseline to the end of 9 months of the program in both groups). This study is the first to demonstrate that implementation of an interprofessional knowledge integration initiative for the control of hypertension can rapidly lead to lower BP levels.