Antihypertensive medication classes used among medicare beneficiaries initiating treatment in 2007-2010.

ABSTRACT:

Background

After the 2003 publication of the Seventh Report of the Joint National Committee on Prevention, Detection, Evaluation, and Treatment of High Blood Pressure (JNC 7) guidelines, there was a 5-10% increase in patients initiating antihypertensive medication with a thiazide-type diuretic, but most patients still did not initiate treatment with this class. There are few contemporary published data on antihypertensive medication classes filled by patients initiating treatment.

Methods and findings

We used the 5% random Medicare sample to study the initiation of antihypertensive medication between 2007 and 2010. Initiation was defined by the first antihypertensive medication fill preceded by 365 days with no antihypertensive medication fills. We restricted our analysis to

SUBMITTER: Kent ST 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC4143342 | biostudies-literature | 2014

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature