Arterial hypertension: a clinically relevant problem in physical medicine and rehabilitation?

Objective: Arterial hypertension is the most frequently observed vascular risk factor. Physical and rehabilitative interventions may affect arterial blood pressure. The frequency of hypertensive patients in an outpatient clinic of physical medicine is unknown.

Design: Prospective data collection.

Patients: Overall, 3,826 patients admitted to the outpatient clinic for physical and rehabilitative interventions were included to assess arterial blood pressure, additional vascular risk factors, history of cardiovascular events and antihypertensive drug treatment.

Methods: Arterial blood pressure was measured using an oscillometric method on the non-dominant arm. The patients were divided into sufficiently treated (< 140/90 mmHg, drug treatment), insufficiently treated (≥ 140/90 mmHg, drug treatment and history of hypertension) or de novo hypertensive patients (≥ 140/90 mmHg, no history of hypertension).

Results: Arterial hypertension was observed in 48% of all patients (n = 1,840). In 719 (19%) of patients blood pressure above normal values. Due to significant hypertension 189 (5.2%) patients were either not permitted to start treatment or had to interrupt their physical treatment.

Conclusion: Insufficiently treated hypertension or previously undiagnosed hypertension is relatively common in a physical medicine clinic. We therefore recommend the implementation of arterial blood pressure measurement into the admission procedures in order to reduce such events.