Recommendations and Guidelines Regarding the Preferred Research Protocol for Investigating the Impact of an Optimal Healing Environment on Patients with Hypertension

Abstract

Cardiovascular disease is the leading cause of death in the United States. Hypertension is the most common single reason for visits to primary care physicians accounting for more than 35 million visits annually. Pharmacotherapy can achieve adequate control of blood pressure. Multiple interventions compares to single therapies are more efficacious in treating hypertension, and this fact supports using the holistic approach to hypertension treatment. Implementing an optimal healing environment (OHE) in a hypertension treatment regimen has the potential to impact not only health care costs, but also to optimize blood pressure control, and thus decrease the total cardiovascular disease burden. The research questions for the study of OHE in hypertension may differ between the individual patient perspective and the public health perspective. The use of a 2 × 2 factorial design would allow analysis of both perspectives simultaneously. Using an OHE setting with multiple interventions in formulating an individualized approach to hypertension management merits further exploration and research.