Table 2.
Overview of common barriers to optimal hypertension control and its examples.
| N | Barriers to Hypertension Control | Examples of Individual Barriers | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Patient-related | Sociodemographic factors | Age: Older age is a strong predictor of uncontrolled HTN |
| Gender: The role of gender depends on age and health conditions, such as menopause. | |||
| Socioeconomic status: Socioeconomically underprivileged patients are more prone to suboptimal BP levels despite treatment | |||
| Geographical area: Patients residing in rural areas are more prone to having poor BP control | |||
| Comorbidities | Diabetes: One of the strong predictors of uncontrolled HTN | ||
| Coronary artery disease | |||
| Chronic kidney disease: Patients with severe albuminuria or proteinuria are at greater risk | |||
| Depression: This shows that mental health can also influence BP control | |||
| Hyperlipidemia | |||
| Hyperuricaemia | |||
| 2 | Medication nonadherence | Forgetfulness: The most reported reason | |
| Financial barrier | |||
| High pill burden | |||
| Side effects of antihypertensive agents | |||
| Low measured BP | |||
| 3 | Lifestyle-related | Smoking | |
| Obesity | |||
| Salt intake | |||
| Alcohol intake | |||
| Stress | |||
| Physical inactivity | |||
| 4 | Affordability and accessibility-related barriers | Direct cost of treatment | |
| Cost associated with access to care | |||
| Cost associated with regular follow-up | |||
| 5 | Awareness-related barriers | Disease-related knowledge | |
| Health literacy regarding risk factors | |||
| 6 | Pharmacotherapy-related | Number of used antihypertensive agents | |
| Choice of antihypertensive agents | |||
| Duration of taking antihypertensive agents | |||
| Medication error avoidance | |||