Table 2. Characteristics of patients with resistant hypertension.
| Baseline characteristics | Intervention (n = 28) | Control (n = 24) | p*1 |
| Age, years, mean ± SD | 63.6 ± 16.7 | 66.9 ± 11.3 | 0.421 |
| Male, n (%) | 18 (64.3) | 15 (62.5) | 0.894 |
| Poor subjective health status, n (%) | 14 (50.0) | 15 (62.5) | 0.366 |
| Overweight, n (%) | 21 (84.0) | 19 (90.5) | 0.673 |
| Regular physical activity, n (%) | 15 (53.6) | 10 (41.7) | 0.392 |
| Smoker, n (%) | 8 (29.6) | 2 (8.3) | 0.168 |
| Years since first diagnosis of hypertension, mean ± SD | 14.1 ± 8.4 | 12.1 ± 7.6 | 0.414 |
| Regular BP self-checks, n (%) | 20 (74.1) | 17 (70.8) | 0.796 |
| Diagnosis of ≥1 hypertension-related secondary disease and/or diabetes mellitus type 2, n (%) | 18 (64.3) | 18 (75.0) | 0.404 |
| Follow-up: Changes in patients’ hypertension management | Intervention (n=28) | Control (n=24) | p*1 |
| Examination of the upper-arm cuff of patients’ BP monitor, n (%) | 23 (82.1) | 9 (37.5) | 0.001 |
| Prescription for BP monitor, n (%) | 13 (46.4) | 2 (8.3) | 0.003 |
| Optimization of psychiatric treatment, n (%) | 7 (25.0) | 0 (0) | 0.011 |
| Supervision of BP self-checks, n (%) | 24 (85.7) | 14 (58.3) | 0.026 |
| Mean number of follow-up appointments per patient, mean ± SD | 5,4 ± 2,5 | 4,6 ± 2,4 | 0,275 |
| Referral to a hypertensiology center, n (%) | 3 (11,1) | 1 (4,2) | 0,612 |
| Evaluation for secondary hypertension (renal insufficiency, pheochromocytoma, Conn syndrome, sleep apnea), n (%) | 21 (77.8) | 19 (79.2) | 0.904 |
| Medication | Intervention (n=28) | Control (n=24) | p*1 |
| Number of antihypertensive agents at baseline, mean ± SD | 4.2 ± 1.2 | 3.8 ± 1.0 | 0.225 |
| Number of antihypertensive agents at follow-up, mean ± SD | 4.5 ± 1.2 | 4.0 ± 1.0 | 0.072 |
| Change in antihypertensive agents, mean ± SD | +0.3 ± 0.8 | +0.2 ± 0.3 | 0.231 |
| p*2 | 0.036 | 0.083 |
Percentages are reported for valid cases.
SD, standard deviation; BP, blood pressure
*1Comparison of intervention and control arm using chi-square tests for categorical variables and t-tests in independent samples for continuous variables
*2Comparison of baseline and follow-up data using McNemar tests for categorical variables and paired t-tests for continuous variables)