Management of hypertension in general practice

Hypertension is a major cardiovascular and renal risk factor. The aim of the study was to investigate the current practices concerning the management of hypertension in general practice. Four physicians had a certificate of complementary study in hypertension and 18 physicians had attended continuing medical education sessions on the subject of hypertension. Only 11 physicians requested all the paraclinical examinations for confirmed hypertension. ACE inhibitors were the most commonly prescribed first-line drug and 8 physicians prescribed dual therapy at the outset. 43% of the physicians applied the recommendations in more than 50% of their practices. The analytical study showed that having extensive training in hypertension was a contributing factor. All this suggests the importance of training general practitioners in better management of hypertension with awareness of the recommendations.