Degree of Risk Factor Control and Incident Cardiovascular Diseases in Patients with Hypertension

OBJECTIVE:To investigate whether joint risk factor control could reduce the excess risk of cardiovascular disease (CVD) in patients with hypertension.PATIENTS AND METHODS:A total of 75,293 patients with diagnosed hypertension from the UK Biobank study were included, matched with 256,619 nonhypertensive controls, and followed up until May 31, 2021. Seven risk factors were measured to define joint risk factor control, including blood pressure, body mass index, low-density lipoprotein cholesterol, hemoglobin A1c, albuminuria, smoking, and physical activity.RESULTS:Among hypertensive patients, 14% to 24% lower risks of CVD outcomes were associated with each additional risk factor control. In the Cox proportional hazards models, adjusted hazard ratios for patients with 6 or more risk factor controls compared with patients having 2 or less risk factor controls were 0.49 (95% CI, 0.45 to 0.55) for CVD, 0.51 (95% CI, 0.45 to 0.57) for coronary heart disease, 0.48 (95% CI, 0.38 to 0.60) for stroke, and 0.34 (95% CI, 0.26 to 0.44) for CVD mortality. The excess risks of CVD outcomes in patients with hypertension were diminished to nonsignificant or even lower compared with controls if achieving 6 or more risk factor controls. Men experienced stronger protective associations of joint risk factor control on risks of CVD than women (P<.001 for interaction).CONCLUSION:The joint risk factor control is associated with lower risks of CVD, and a high degree of risk factor control may considerably attenuate the excess risk of CVD among patients with hypertension.