Table 4.
Use of antihypertensives in first year after initiation [n (%)] by first‐line therapy in individuals with one year of follow‐up (n = 45 954)
| Monotherapy | FDC only | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| ACE inhibitor/ARB (n = 27 632) | Thiazide diuretic (n = 1486) | Beta‐blockers (n = 6478) | Calcium channel blocker (n = 4538) | Antihypertensive combination (n = 2266) | Other combination* (n = 1626) | Multiple medicines (n = 1928) | Total (n = 45 954) | |
| Discontinuation of all antihypertensive therapy | ||||||||
| After first dispensing | 4334 (15.7) | 676 (45.5) | 2625 (40.5) | 1371 (30.2) | 636 (28.1) | 826 (50.8) | 376 (19.5) | 10 844 (23.6) |
| At any time | 10 354 (37.5) | 967 (65.1) | 4482 (69.2) | 2562 (56.5) | 1243 (54.9) | 1131 (69.6) | 860 (44.6) | 21 599 (47.0) |
| Continuous antihypertensive therapy | ||||||||
| No change in therapy from initiation | 11 289 (40.9) | 287 (19.3) | 1213 (18.7) | 1192 (26.3) | 662 (29.2) | 357 (22.0) | 261 (13.5) | 15 260 (33.2) |
| Switching to or addition of another antihypertensive(s) | 5989 (21.7) | 232 (15.6) | 783 (12.1) | 784 (17.3) | 361 (15.9) | 138 (8.5) | 809 (42.0) | 9096 (19.8) |
| Uptake of antihypertensive fixed‐dose combination | ||||||||
| 3146 (11.4) | 114 (7.7) | 144 (2.2) | 256 (5.6) | 2266 (100.0) | 38 (2.3) | 435 (22.5) | 6399 (13.9) | |
*
Other combinations include hydrochlorothiazide and a potassium‐sparing diuretic, and amlodipine and atorvastatin.