Cardiovascular and circulatory

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Cardiovascular and circulatory

TASMINH4 study

TASMINH4 study looked into the treatment of hypertension within primary care. The study found that when GPs base medication adjustments on regular blood pressure readings taken by patients at home, blood pressure was significantly lower after 12 months when compared with those who routinely attended clinics to have their blood pressure monitored. The trial, published in The Lancet, involved 1182 patients (260 from the East of England region) with poorly-controlled blood pressure, recruited through 142 general practices in England (30 in the East of England area). The researchers state that all GPs should encourage patients with hypertension to monitor their blood pressure at home and use those readings in their day-to-day care.

PRIMROSE Study

76 GP practices (5 in East of England) and 327 participants were involved in a cluster-randomised trial aiming to evaluate the effects of a primary care intervention on decreasing total cholesterol concentrations and cardiovascular disease risk. The Primrose intervention consisted of up to 12 monthly appointments with a trained primary care professional who delivered manualised interventions for cardiovascular disease prevention (i.e. adherence to statins, improving diet and physical activity levels, reducing alcohol intake or quitting smoking) compared to usual care. Although total cholesterol concentration at 12 months did not differ between the groups, the association between the Primrose intervention and fewer psychiatric admissions, with potential cost-effectiveness, might be important. The study findings are published in The Lancet 2018.

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