Search

Importance: Isolated systolic hypertension (ISH) is increasing in prevalence among young and middle-aged adults. However, most studies of ISH are limited to older individuals, and a substantial knowledge gap exists regarding younger adults with ISH., Objective: To assess the prevalence, awareness, and characteristics of ISH among younger and middle-aged adults in China., Design, Setting, and Participants: This cross-sectional study was performed as part of the China Patient-Centered Evaluative Assessment of Cardiac Events Million Persons Project, which enrolled 3.1 million community residents aged 35 to 75 years from all of the 31 provinces in China between December 15, 2014, and May 15, 2019. The present analysis included only participants younger than 50 years. Data were analyzed from May to November 2019., Main Outcomes and Measures: Prevalence and awareness of ISH (defined as systolic blood pressure of 140 mm Hg or higher and diastolic blood pressure of less than 90 mm Hg) and individual characteristics of participants with ISH., Results: Among 898 929 participants aged 35 to 49 years, the mean (SD) age was 43.8 (3.9) years; 548 657 participants (61.0%) were women, and 235 138 participants (26.2%) had hypertension. Of those with hypertension, 62 819 participants (26.7%; 95% CI, 26.5%-26.9%) had ISH (mean [SD] age, 45.0 [3.5] years; 41 417 women [65.9%]), and 54 463 of those with ISH (86.7%; 95% CI, 86.4%-87.0%) had not received treatment. The prevalence of ISH was higher among individuals who were older, were female, were farmers, resided in the eastern region of China, and had an educational level of primary school or lower. Women and older individuals were more likely to have ISH than to be normotensive or to have other hypertension subtypes. Participants who were obese, currently used alcohol, had diabetes, and experienced previous cardiovascular events were more likely to have other types of hypertension and less likely to have normotension than to have ISH. Among the 54 463 participants with ISH who had not received treatment, only 3682 individuals (6.8%; 95% CI, 6.6%-7.0%) were aware of having hypertension, and awareness rates remained low even among those with systolic blood pressure of 160 mm Hg or higher (7135 individuals [13.1%; 95% CI, 12.4%-13.9%])., Conclusions and Relevance: In this study, ISH was identified in 1 of 4 young and middle-aged adults with hypertension in China, most of whom remained unaware of having hypertension. These results highlight the increasing need for better guidance regarding the management of ISH in this population.

Importance: Given the emerging heart failure (HF) epidemic in China, monitoring and improving the quality of care for heart failure is a top priority., Objectives: To assess the quality of HF care provided to inpatients by examining the adherence to quality measures for HF care at the hospital level and to identify factors associated with the quality of care., Design, Setting, and Participants: In this multicenter, hospital-based, retrospective cross-sectional study in China, medical records of patients hospitalized for HF from January 1, 2015, to December 31, 2015, were analyzed from January 1, 2018, to May 20, 2019. In the first stage, simple random sampling stratified by economic-geographical regions in China was used to generate a list of participating hospitals. In the second stage, 15 538 hospitalizations from the 189 selected hospitals were systematically sampled, and 10 004 HF hospitalizations were included in the final sample., Main Outcomes and Measures: Adherence to the following 4 core performance measures at the hospital level: (1) left ventricular ejection fraction assessment during hospitalization; (2) evidence-based β-blocker (bisoprolol, carvedilol, or metoprolol succinate) for eligible patients at discharge; (3) angiotensin-converting enzyme inhibitors or angiotensin receptor blockers for eligible patients at discharge; and (4) scheduled follow-up appointment at discharge. At the hospital level, a composite performance score (ranging from 0-1) was also calculated by averaging these measures., Results: In total, 10 004 hospital admissions for HF at 189 hospitals were included in this study. The median (interquartile range [IQR]) patient age at admission was 73 (65-80) years, and 5117 (51.1%) of the patients were men. Among all hospitals, the median rate of adherence to measure 1 was 66.7% (IQR, 45.5%-80.7%; range, 0%-100%). The rate for adherence to measure 2 was 14.8% (IQR, 0%-37.5%; range, 0%-81.8%), and the rate for measure 3 was 57.1% (IQR, 36.4%-75.0%; range, 0%-100%). For measure 4, the median rate of adherence was 11.5% (IQR, 3.3%-32.8%; range, 0%-96.7%). The median (IQR) composite performance score across all hospitals was 40.0% (26.9%-51.9%), with a range from 2.2% to 85.4%. The median odds ratios of adherence were 2.2 (95% CI, 2.0-2.4) for measure 1, 2.1 (95% CI, 1.8-2.4) for measure 2, 2.4 (95% CI, 2.0-2.9 for measure 3, and 4.8 (95% CI, 3.9-5.8) for measure 4 among hospitals., Conclusions and Relevance: The findings of this study suggest that quality of care for patients with HF in China may be substandard, and there is wide heterogeneity in the quality of care for HF among hospitals. The findings also suggest the need for a national strategy to improve and standardize the quality of HF care in China.

Background Characterizing and assessing the prevalence, awareness, and treatment patterns of patients with isolated diastolic hypertension (IDH) can generate new knowledge and highlight opportunities to improve their care. Methods and Results We used data from the China PEACE (Patient-centered Evaluative Assessment of Cardiac Events) Million Persons Project, which screened 2 351 035 participants aged 35 to 75 years between 2014 and 2018. IDH was defined as systolic and diastolic blood pressure of <140 and ≥90 mm Hg; awareness as self-reported diagnosis of hypertension; and treatment as current use of antihypertensive medications. Of the 2 310 184 participants included (mean age 55.7 years; 59.5% women); 73 279 (3.2%) had IDH, of whom 63 112 (86.1%) were untreated, and only 6512 (10.3%) of the untreated were aware of having hypertension. When compared with normotensives, participants who were <60 years, men, at least college educated, had body mass index of >28 kg/m 2 , consumed alcohol, had diabetes mellitus, and prior cardiovascular events were more likely to have IDH (all P <0.01). Among those with IDH, higher likelihood of awareness was associated with increased age, women, college education, body mass index of >28 kg/m 2 , higher income, diabetes mellitus, prior cardiovascular events, and Central or Eastern region (all P <0.05). Most treated participants with IDH reported taking only 1 class of antihypertensive medication. Conclusions IDH affects a substantial number of people in China, however, few are aware of having hypertension and most treated participants are poorly managed, which suggests the need to improve the diagnosis and treatment of people with IDH.

Background Heart failure (HF) is an emerging epidemic in China and accounts for significant healthcare resource utilization in the inpatient setting. To create evidence-based, life-saving, and cost-saving hospitalization systems, the first step is to characterize the contemporary national landscape of inpatient HF care. Methods and Results In the China PEACE 5r-HF study (China Patient-centered evaluative Assessment of Cardiac Events Retrospective Study of Heart Failure), we used 2-stage random sampling to create a nationally representative cohort of 10 004 admissions for HF from 189 hospitals in 2015 in China. Data on patient characteristics, management, and outcomes were obtained through centralized medical record abstraction. The median age of the cohort was 73 years (interquartile range, 65-80), and 48.9% were women. More than half (56.2%) of the patients were hospitalized in rural areas. Prevalence of ejection fraction ≥50%, 40% to 50%, and <40% was 60.3%, 17.7%, and 22.0%, respectively. We identified substantial gaps in care, including underutilization of diagnostic tests such as echocardiograms (63.6%), chest imaging (75.2%), and biomarker testing (56.4%), low prescription rates of guideline-recommended medications during hospitalization and at discharge, suboptimal rates of follow-up appointments (24.3%), and widespread utilization of traditional Chinese medicine (74.8%). The combined rate of in-hospital mortality and treatment withdrawal in our study was 3.5%, and median length-of-stay was 9 days (interquartile range, 7-13). Conclusions Patients admitted with acute HF in China have distinctive epidemiology and receive substandard care, but have low inpatient mortality despite long length of stay. These findings provide opportunities for streamlining efficiencies while improving quality of inpatient HF care in China. Clinical Trial Registration URL: https://www.clinicaltrials.gov. Unique identifier: NCT02877914.