Hipertensión arterial refractaria verdadera. Estudio de prevalencia en una consulta hospitalaria

InnovaSEC in Action: Cost-effectiveness of Barostim in the Treatment of Refractory Hypertension in Spain

INTRODUCTION AND OBJECTIVES

In Spain, 0.3% of patients with hypertension are refractory to conventional treatment. The complications resulting from deficient control of this condition can lead to poor quality of life for the patient and considerable health care costs. Barostim is an implantable device designed to lower blood pressure in these patients. The aim of this study was to analyze the cost-effectiveness of Barostim compared with drug therapy in hypertensive patients refractory to conventional treatment (at least 3 antihypertensive drugs, including 1 diuretic agent).

METHODS

We used a Markov model adapted to the epidemiology of the Spanish population to simulate the natural history of a cohort of patients with refractory hypertension over their lifetime. Data on the effectiveness of the treatments studied were obtained from the literature, and data on costs were taken from hospital administrative databases and official sources. Deterministic and probabilistic sensitivity analyses were conducted.

RESULTS

Barostim increased the number of quality-adjusted life years by 0.78 and reduced the number of hypertension-associated clinical events. The incremental cost-effectiveness ratio in a cohort of men reached 68 726 euros per year of quality-adjusted life. One of the main elements that makes this technology costly is the need for battery replacement. The results were robust.

CONCLUSIONS

Barostim is not a cost-effective strategy for the treatment of refractory hypertension in Spain. The cost-effectiveness ratio could be improved by future reductions in the cost of the battery.

[Resistant arterial hypertension in Primary Care patients in Spain. PRESCAP Study 2010]

OBJECTIVE

To determine the prevalence and clinical and epidemiological characteristics of Primary Care patients with resistant hypertension (RHT) in Spain.

PATIENTS AND METHODS

A cross-sectional multicenter study was conducted on hypertensive patients aged 18 or over and seen in a Primary Care clinic. RHT was considered as the presence of uncontrolled blood pressure in patients treated with at least 3 drugs, one of which is a diuretic.

RESULTS

Of the 12,961 hypertensive patients in the PRESCAP 2010 study, 962 (7.4%) fulfilled criteria for RHT, of whom 51% were women, and with a mean age (SD) 68.8 [11.4] years. Patients with RHT were older (68.80 [10.69] years vs. 66.06 [11.44] years, P<.001), had a higher prevalence of obesity (55.2 vs. 38.6%, P<.001), a higher waist circumference (103.90 [13.89] vs. 99.32 [13.69] cm, P<.001), and a higher prevalence of DM (48.3 vs. 29.5%, P<.001). The prevalence of target organ damage (73.0 vs. 61.4%, P<.001) and cardiovascular disease (46.7 vs. 26.8%, P<.001) were higher in patients with resistant hypertension. The multivariate analysis showed that the variables associated with resistant hypertension were the presence of cardiovascular disease, diabetes mellitus, sedentary life style, microalbuminuria, body mass index, duration of AHT, and triglycerides.

CONCLUSIONS

The prevalence of RHT in Primary Care patients is related to inappropriate lifestyles, the presence of target organ damage, and cardiovascular disease.