Prescribing Patterns
| Before-JNC 7 Cohort (n = 15,258) | After-JNC 7 Cohort n = 4,000 | P | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Number of agents (n [%]) | |||
| No drug therapy | 908 (6.7) | 249 (6.2) | <.0001 |
| Monotherapy | 6196 (45.4) | 1365 (34.1) | |
| Dual therapy | 4283 (31.4) | 1425 (35.6) | |
| Triple+ therapy | 2251 (16.5) | 961 (24.0) | |
| Class of agents used in patients receiving therapy (n [%]) | n = 14,350† | n = 3751 | |
| Beta-blockers | 3739 (29.4) | 1340 (35.7) | <.0001 |
| ACE inhibitors | 4248 (33.4) | 1229 (32.7) | |
| Calcium channel blockers | 3644 (28.6) | 967 (25.8) | |
| ARBs | 1033 (8.1) | 508 (13.5) | <.0001 |
| Diuretics–total | 3950 (31.0) | 1522 (40.6) | <.0001 |
| Thiazide | 889 (7.0) | 748 (19.9) | <.0001 |
| Nonthiazide | 3061 (24.0) | 774 (20.6) | |
| Alpha-blockers | 708 (5.6) | 259 (6.9) | .0020 |
| Fixed-dose combination agents* | 1516 (11.9) | 783 (20.8) | <.0001 |
* Fixed-dose combination agents included ACE inhibitor/calcium channel blocker, ACE inhibitor/diuretic, ARB/diuretic, beta-blocker/diuretic, or vasodilator/diuretic.
† Includes patients’ prescribed antihypertensive therapy.
ACE, angiotensin converting enzyme; ARB, angiotensin II receptor blocker.