Blood Pressure Management in the Care Home Population

The UK care home population is projected to increase significantly over the coming decades. A high proportion of individuals in a care home have multiple long-term conditions and take large amounts of prescribed medication. This means they are routinely excluded from research studies and so there is little evidence on which to base treatment of long-term conditions such as high blood pressure. Furthermore, given that 1 in 4 people admitted into a care home die within 1 year, the benefit of treating high blood pressure to reduce the risk of heart attack or stroke must be balanced with the need to optimise quality of life. The aim of this study is to describe the health and social characteristics of the UK care home population with a particular focus on the management of blood pressure in the population. It is hoped that the findings of this study will help inform future research into the management of chronic conditions in care home residents.