Stopping drug treatment of hypertension: experience in 18 British general practices.

Background: Of the many reports published describing the effect of withdrawing antihypertensive medication from patients who have well-controlled blood pressure, none have been major British general practice studies. Studies from other settings have shown that a substantial minority can do so without harm or resulting in the relapse of their hypertension.

Aim: To determine the proportion of hypertensive patients who could have their medication withdrawn without relapse, and to seek factors associated with success at withdrawal.

Blood pressure control of drug treated hypertension in 18 general practices.

This study examined the blood pressure (BP) control and number of drugs prescribed for a sample of hypertensive patients from 18 practices in Northeast England. Out of a total of 35,379 registered patients aged 40-69 years, 2995 (8.5%) were on treatment for hypertension.