Emergency Department Interventions to Improve Blood Pressure Follow-up

Hypertension is a very common disease, affecting approximately 65 million people in the United States. As many as 30 % of people with hypertension, approximately 20 million individuals, remain undiagnosed. As many as one third of patients seen in ED were noted to have elevated BP readings in prior studies. Approximately 5% of emergency department (ED) patients have severely elevated blood pressure. Prior studies suggest that as many as two thirds of ED patients with elevated BP can benefit from further therapy or closer clinic follow-up. However primary care follow-up after ED discharge with an elevated BP is surprisingly low. The purpose of this study is to measure the follow-up rate after the ED visit in individuals identified with elevated blood pressure after a brief counseling regarding risks of elevated blood pressure.