The Journal of Clinical Hypertension (Aug 2023)

Association between office visit intervals and long‐term cardiovascular risk in hypertensive patients

  • Duon Kim,
  • Hyunmook Jeong,
  • Suhyun Kim,
  • Ho‐Gyun Shin,
  • Kyun‐Ik Park,
  • Seung‐Pyo Lee,
  • Hee‐Sun Lee,
  • Ju‐Yeun Lee,
  • Kwang‐il Kim,
  • Si‐Hyuck Kang,
  • Jang Hoon Lee,
  • Se Yong Jang,
  • Ju‐Hee Lee,
  • Kye Hun Kim,
  • Jae Yeong Cho,
  • Jae‐Hyeong Park,
  • Sue K. Park,
  • Seungyeon Kim,
  • Kwangsoo Kim,
  • Hae‐Young Lee

DOI
https://doi.org/10.1111/jch.14698
Journal volume & issue
Vol. 25, no. 8
pp. 748 – 756

Abstract

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Abstract Hypertension is a chronic disease that requires long‐term follow‐up in many patients, however, optimal visit intervals are not well‐established. This study aimed to evaluate the incidences of major cardiovascular events (MACEs) according to visit intervals. We analyzed data from 9894 hypertensive patients in the Korean Hypertension Cohort, which enrolled and followed up 11,043 patients for over 10 years. Participants were classified into five groups based on their median visit intervals (MVIs) during the 4‐year period and MACEs were compared among the groups. The patients were divided into clinically relevant MVIs of one (1013; 10%), two (1299; 13%), three (2732; 28%), four (2355; 24%), and six months (2515; 25%). The median follow‐up period was 5 years (range: 1745 ± 293 days). The longer visit interval groups did not have an increased cumulative incidence of MACE (12.9%, 11.8%, 6.7%, 5.9%, and 4%, respectively). In the Cox proportional hazards model, those in the longer MVI group had a smaller hazard ratio (HR) for MACEs or all‐cause death: 1.77 (95% confidence interval [CI], 1.45–2.17), 1.7 (95% CI: 1.41–2.05), 0.90 (95% CI: 0.74–1.09) and 0.64 (95% CI: 0.52–0.79), respectively (Reference MVI group of 75–104 days). In conclusion, a follow‐up visits with a longer interval of 3–6 months was not associated with an increased risk of MACE or all‐cause death in hypertensive patients. Therefore, once medication adjustment is stabilized, a longer interval of 3–6 months is reasonable, reducing medical expenses without increasing the risk of cardiovascular outcomes.

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