Clinical trial NCT00416611: IMPlementation of gUideLines for the Management of Arterial hypertenSION. The IMPULSION Study
Official title: IMPlementation of gUideLines for the Management of Arterial hypertenSION. The IMPULSION Study
Study type: OBSERVATIONAL
Overall status: COMPLETED
Conditions: High Blood Pressure
Keywords: High blood pressure
Awareness
Treatment
Effective Control
Coronary heart disease risk reduction
Hypertension
Lead sponsor: Hellenic Atherosclerosis Society
Sponsor class: OTHER
First posted: 2006-12-28
Enrollment: 1000
Sex: ALL
Minimum age (years): 18
Maximum age (years): 75
Standard ages: ADULT
OLDER_ADULT
Accepts healthy volunteers: no
Observational model: COHORT
Time perspective: PROSPECTIVE

Brief summary: The objective of this protocol is to improve awareness, treatment, and control of arterial hypertension, within primary prevention of target organ damage, by implementing guidelines, after training of the participating physicians.

Detailed description: Physicians from 20 hospitals and 40 health centres (primary health care settings) were trained to implement guidelines in treating arterial hypertension.

There will be a baseline recording of patients with arterial hypertension and then physicians will have to complete a one page form (by ticking pre-specified boxes) about the baseline status of the patients and will have to report the measures they took to improve awareness, treatment, and effective control of arterial hypertension. After a six month effort, physicians will have to complete the same form at study completion. Previous training of physicians and the fact that they will have to report their success in treating hypertension will hopefully contribute to an increase in number of hypertensive patients at blood pressure target, and will minimise the target organ damage. The estimated reduction in coronary heart disease risk will be evaluated by a comparison of this risk (as evaluated by a risk engine, i.e. PROCAM) at study completion with that of baseline.

Eligibility criteria: Inclusion Criteria:

* Arterial hypertension as defined by the JNC 7 report

Exclusion Criteria:

* Pregnancy
* Lactation
* Malignancies with small life expectancy
* Unwillingness to participate

Primary outcomes:
measure: Efficacy in arterial hypertension control
timeFrame: 6 months
measure: Efficacy in reducing estimated risk of coronary heart disease
timeFrame: 6 months
Secondary outcomes:
measure: Cost effectiveness of arterial hypertension control
timeFrame: 6 months
measure: Differences between primary and secondary health care settings as well as teaching hospitals
timeFrame: 6 months
Other outcomes:
Locations:
city: Thessaloniki
country: Greece
facility: Hellenic Atherosclerosis Society
Study officials:
affiliation: Clinical Trials Chair of Hellenic Atherosclerosis Society
name: Athyros G Athyros, MD
role: STUDY_DIRECTOR
References:
citation: Karagiannis A, Athyros VG, Papageorgiou A, Tziomalos K, Elisaf M. Should atenolol still be recommended as first-line therapy for primary hypertension? Hellenic J Cardiol. 2006 Sep-Oct;47(5):298-307. No abstract available.
citation: Karagiannis A, Hatzitolios AI, Athyros VG, Deligianni K, Charalambous C, Papathanakis C, Theodosiou G, Drakidis T, Chatzikaloudi V, Kamilali C, Matsiras S, Matziris A, Savopoulos C, Baltatzi M, Rudolf J, Tziomalos K, Mikhailidis DP. Implementation of guidelines for the management of arterial hypertension. The impulsion study. Open Cardiovasc Med J. 2009 May 5;3:26-34. doi: 10.2174/1874192400903010026.