Therapeutic Adherence in Uncontrolled Arterial Hypertension

In hypertension, highly prevalent, up to 10-15% of hypertensive patients have uncontrolled blood pressure despite being treated with ≥3 drugs, which is known as resistant hypertension. Resistant arterial hypertension, together with difficult-to-control hypertension, has a worse cardiovascular prognosis than controlled hypertension. In addition, data on therapeutic adherence in arterial hypertension show that 1 in 2 hypertensive patients do not fully or partially comply with the indicated therapeutic prescription. The determination of antihypertensive drugs or their metabolites in urine seems to be a good indicator of therapeutic adherence. On the other hand, the implementation of a specific program to improve knowledge of the disease and its risks and promote therapeutic adherence could improve the control of hypertension and reduce the associated morbidity and mortality.