Hypertension and antihypertensive treatment in veterans with spinal cord injury and disorders.

Barry W, St Andre JR, Evans CT, Sabharwal S, Miskevics S, Weaver FM, Smith BM. Hypertension and antihypertensive treatment in veterans with spinal cord injury and disorders. Spinal Cord. 2013 Feb 1; 51(2):109-15.

Related HSR&D Project(s)

• RCS 98-354 – Research Career Scientist Award

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Abstract:

OBJECTIVES: Hypertension (HTN) is an important risk factor for cardiovascular disease, a major cause of morbidity and mortality among people with spinal cord injury and disorders (SCI/D). Our study examined prevalence, associated factors, and pharmacological treatment of HTN in Veterans with SCI/D compared with a matched control group. METHODS: A retrospective review was conducted of Veterans with traumatic SCI/D (TSCI/D; n = 6672), non-traumatic SCI/D (NTSCI/D; n = 3566) and a matched, non-injured cohort. RESULTS: Over half of patients with TSCI/D (56.6%) had HTN, compared with 68.4% of matched controls (P < 0.001). Paraplegic and tetraplegic Veterans with TSCI/D had significantly lower odds of having a HTN diagnosis compared with control (odds ratios (OR) = 0.84 (0.77-0.91); OR = 0.38 (0.35-0.42)). About 71.8% of patients with NTSCI/D had HTN compared with 72.3% of matched controls (P > 0.05). Paraplegic and tetraplegic Veterans with NTSCI/D did not have significantly different odds of a HTN diagnosis compared with control (OR = 0.92 (0.79-1.05); OR = 0.85 (0.71-1.01)). Adjusted analysis indicates that Veterans with tetraplegia and HTN were less likely to receive antihypertensive therapy (TSCI/D, OR = 0.62 (0.53-0.71); NTSCI/D, OR = 0.81 (0.66-0.99)). CONCLUSION: HTN appears to be more prevalent in SCI/D Veterans than previously reported. TSCI/D Veterans have a significantly lower prevalence of HTN whereas NTSCI/D Veterans have a comparable prevalence of HTN to those without SCI/D. The level of injury (tetraplegia vs paraplegia) has a large impact on the prevalence of HTN in the traumatic cohort. Subsequent antihypertensive therapy is used less in both TSCI/D and NTSCI/D Veterans with tetraplegia and more in TSCI/D Veterans with paraplegia.