Impact of duration and treatment of arterial hypertension on health-related quality of life

Arterial hypertension (AH) is one of the most important risk factors for development of ischemic heart disease; thus, control of AH and effective treatment are of great importance. Since arterial hypertension is commonly referred as asymptomatic condition, the question whether hypertensive condition is associated with the change of well-being and health-related quality of life is still debatable. The aim of the study. To evaluate the impact of duration and treatment of AH on health-related quality of life.
Material and methods. The contingent of the study consisted of patients who arrived for a cardiologist’s consultation at the Clinic of Cardiology, Hospital of Kaunas University of Medicine. The patients were randomly selected for the study. The inclusion criteria were as follows: diagnosed arterial hypertension, diabetes mellitus, and the metabolic syndrome. Diagnosed ischemic heart disease (chronic and acute coronary syndromes and their complications) and severe concomitant diseases were exclusion criteria. A total of 101 patients (19 males and 82 females) met the inclusion criteria and consented to participate in the study. Their mean age was 58.03±5.63 years. The patients’ quality of life was evaluated using the Medical Outcomes Study short form 36-item questionnaire (SF-36 questionnaire), which comprises 36 questions grouped into eight domains. The questionnaire was filled in by the subjects independently. Other methods applied to the study were inquiry (for the evaluation of risk factors, lifestyle, and medical history), analysis of medical documents (cholesterol levels and glycemia in blood), and objective examination (height, weight, waist circumference, and arterial blood pressure).
Results. The subjects with AH showed lower values compared to normotensive patients in the following domains: physical functioning (P=0.014), role limitations due to physical health (P=0.012), energy/vitality (P=0.016), and general health evaluation (P=0.023). We have not determined the differences in quality of life of the patients whose AH was regulated if compared to those patients without AH. The patients whose treatment of AH was not effective reported lower quality of life in the following SF-36 domains: physical functioning (P=0.003), role limitations due to physical health (P=0.003), general evaluation of health (P=0.017), energy/vitality (P=0.008), and emotional status (P=0.015), if compared to the patients without AH.
Conclusions. Patients with AH reported lower quality of life in the following domains: physical functioning, role limitations due to physical health, energy/vitality, and general evaluation of health. Compared to patients without AH, the quality of life of the patients who had the effective treatment did not differ, whereas patients with ineffective treatment had the lower quality of life. Functioning is more statistically significantly limited due to physical health in patients with AH.