Delays in HTN Diagnosis Linked to Delays in Medication Prescribing
THURSDAY, July 17, 2025 -- Delays in diagnosis of hypertension are common and associated with delays in treatment initiation, according to a study published online July 14 in JAMA Network Open.
Yuan Lu, Sc.D., from Yale New Haven Hospital in Connecticut, and colleagues examined the timing of clinical hypertension diagnosis and its association with antihypertensive medication prescribing and long-term cardiovascular outcomes in a retrospective cohort study. Adults aged 18 to 85 years with at least two outpatient blood pressure (BP) readings of 140/90 mm Hg or more recorded at least 30 days apart from Jan. 1, 2010, to Dec. 31, 2021, were included.
Among 311,743 patients with a computed hypertension diagnosis, 14.6 percent received a diagnosis after the second BP elevation. The researchers found an association for delayed diagnosis with lower antihypertensive medication prescription rates (30.6 versus 75.2 percent) and with increased cardiovascular risk over five years (hazard ratios, 1.04, 1.11, and 1.29 for delay of one to 90, 91 to 365, and >365 days, respectively). Factors associated with greater delay in clinical diagnosis of hypertension included younger age (median delay, 17.5 and 13.4 months for 45 to 64 years and 75 years and older, respectively), female sex (median delay, 16.6 versus 16.1 months for male sex), and non-Hispanic Asian or non-Hispanic Black race (median delay, 18.5 and 17.2 months versus 16.3 months for non-Hispanic White).
"Interventions leveraging EHR [electronic health record] systems may help facilitate earlier recognition and treatment of hypertension, potentially reducing cardiovascular risk," the authors write.
Several authors disclosed ties to the pharmaceutical and health care data industries.
Disclaimer: Statistical data in medical articles provide general trends and do not pertain to individuals. Individual factors can vary greatly. Always seek personalized medical advice for individual healthcare decisions.
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