International Journal of Cardiovascular Sciences. 21/Mar/2024;37:e20240024.

The Old Problem of Adherence in the Control of Arterial Hypertension

Fernando Stuardo Wyss Quintana

DOI: 10.36660/ijcs.20240024

This Editorial is referred by the Research article "Therapeutic Adherence According to the Morisky Scale in Patients with Hypertension".

In medical treatment of chronic diseases, for example, arterial hypertension, diabetes mellitus, and dyslipidemia, the main objective is the implementation of primary prevention or, failing that, secondary prevention of cardiovascular events, to achieve adequate control of cardiovascular prevention. Thus, the following measures are very necessary: 1. adequate patient education, 2. pharmacological prescription based on cardiovascular risk, and 3. adequate adherence to the prescribed treatment. This last point is, without a doubt, the most difficult to achieve.

The health interventions recommended by the World Health Organization for the control of these diseases focus on pharmacological treatments and general recommendations to take care of one’s diet and adopt healthy lifestyles, but the growth in prevalence shows that until now these treatments have been insufficient; that is, the therapeutic adherence of patients suffering from these diseases is low. This low adherence occurs because of personal therapeutic barriers and those of health systems.

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