AGREEing on Canadian cardiovascular clinical practice guidelines.

The use of clinical practice guidelines (CPGs), particularly the routine implementation of evidence-based cardiovascular health maintenance and disease management recommendations, affords both expert and nonexpert practitioners the opportunity to achieve better, and at least theoretically similar, patient outcomes. However, health care practitioners are often stymied in their efforts to follow even well-researched and well-written CPGs as a consequence of contradictory information. The purposeful integration and harmonization of Canadian cardiovascular CPGs, regardless of their specific risk factor or clinical management focus, is critical to their widespread acceptance and implementation.

The 2007 Canadian Hypertension Education Program recommendations for the management of hypertension: part 2 - therapy.

Objective: To provide updated, evidence-based recommendations for the prevention and management of hypertension in adults.

Options And Outcomes: For lifestyle and pharmacological interventions, evidence was reviewed from randomized controlled trials and systematic reviews of trials. Changes in cardiovascular morbidity and mortality were the primary outcomes of interest.

The 2006 Canadian Hypertension Education Program recommendations for the management of hypertension: Part II - Therapy.

Objective: To provide updated, evidence-based recommendations for the management of hypertension in adults.

Options And Outcomes: For lifestyle and pharmacological interventions, evidence from randomized, controlled trials and systematic reviews of trials was preferentially reviewed. Changes in cardiovascular morbidity and mortality were the primary outcomes of interest.

The 2005 Canadian Hypertension Education Program recommendations for the management of hypertension: part II - therapy.

Objective: To provide updated, evidence-based recommendations for the management of hypertension in adults.

Options And Outcomes: For lifestyle and pharmacological interventions, evidence from randomized controlled trials and systematic reviews of trials was preferentially reviewed. While changes in cardiovascular morbidity and mortality were the primary outcomes of interest, for lifestyle interventions, blood pressure lowering was accepted as a primary outcome given the lack of long-term morbidity/mortality data in this field, and for certain comorbid conditions, other relevant outcomes, such as development of proteinuria or worsening of kidney function, were considered.