NEWS 11
ausdoc. com. au 19 SEPTEMBER 2025
NEWS 11
Tool predicts effect of BP meds
Ciara Seccombe A NEW Australian-developed |
measure and judge’ approach to treatment, which comes with the high |
Doctors can optionally include baseline systolic blood pressure and |
The Lancet that quantified the average expected blood pressure |
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online calculator lets doctors model |
probability of being misled by blood |
diastolic blood pressure, as well as |
reduction from various antihyper- |
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the effectiveness of different anti- |
pressure readings, inertia setting in |
five- or 10-year absolute cardiovas- |
tensive medications and doses. |
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hypertensive combinations on their |
or the burden on patients being too |
cular risk, before calculating the |
They warned that the calculator |
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patients. |
much,” said Professor Anthony Rodg- |
effect of the proposed treatment. |
only showed the average expected |
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The George Institute for Global |
ers, the institute’ s senior professorial |
It then classifies the treatment |
response to treatment and“ inaccu- |
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Health published the free Blood Pres- |
fellow. |
plan as low, moderate or high inten- |
racies inevitably exist”. |
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sure Treatment Efficacy Calculator |
“ With this new method, you spec- |
sity and projects the impact on sys- |
Future iterations could include |
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last month, saying it could help |
ify how much you need to lower blood |
tolic blood pressure and diastolic |
factors such as sex, ethnicity and |
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doctors skip trial-and-error prescrib- |
pressure, choose an ideal treatment |
blood pressure. |
BMI, they suggested. |
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ing as they try to optimise treatment.“ Using the calculator challenges the traditional‘ start low, go slow, |
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plan to achieve that based on the evidence and get the patient started on that, ideally sooner rather than later.” |
The developers created the calculator based on a systematic review and meta-analysis they published in |
Calculator: bpmodel. org Lancet 2025; 30 Aug. |
Professor Anthony Rodgers. |
SSRIs pose risk in older patients
Paul Smith OLDER patients prescribed antidepressants are at increased risk of postural hypotension during the first month of treatment, a study has found.
The self-controlled case series tracked 41,000 Britons in primary care aged 60 and over with incident postural hypotension.
Published in the British Journal of General Practice, it found that 22 % had been prescribed an SSRI, 20 % a tricyclic antidepressant and 11 % a different type of antidepressant.
The risk of postural hypotension reduced from day 28 onwards for all antidepressants, the study found.
“ The finding that SSRIs were associated with the highest risk of postural hypotension in this study— a fourfold increased risk of postural hypotension during the days 1-28 exposure risk period— was surprising,” wrote the researchers from University College London.
“ SSRIs are considered first line for depression in older adults, are generally considered a‘ safer’ antidepressant and are the most frequently prescribed drug in older people.”
Postural hypotension was defined as a reduction in systolic blood pressure of ≥20mmHg or diastolic blood pressure of ≥10mmHg within three minutes of assuming an upright posture or on assuming a head-up position of at least 60 degrees during tilttable testing.
The authors stressed that the condition was linked with increased risk of falls, MI, stroke, AF, dementia and mortality related to cerebral and cardiac hypoperfusion.
They said the link between postural hypotension and antidepressants had been documented in previous limited studies but was still rarely recognised in practice. Br J Gen Pract 2025; 26 Jun.
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Juvenile arthritis is one of the most common chronic diseases affecting young Australians. 3
Early diagnosis is crucial for preventing life-long pain and disability. 1, 2 You can change a child’ s life.
Learn more at jafa. org. au / hcphub
or scan code to visit the resource hub
STIFF I SWOLLEN I SORE
RECOGNISE AND REFER 1, 2
References: 1. Juvenile Arthritis Foundation Australia. About juvenile arthritis. Available at: www. jafa. org. au / about / juvenile-arthritis / [ Accessed August 2025 ]. 2. Healthdirect. Arthritis in children Available at: https:// www. healthdirect. gov. au / arthritis-and-children-juvenile-arthritis [ Accessed August 2025 ]. 3. Australian Institute of Health and Welfare. Chronic musculoskeletal conditions: Juvenile arthritis. Available at: https:// www. aihw. gov. au / reports / chronic-musculoskeletal-conditions / juvenile-arthritis # Livingwitharthritis [ Accessed August 2025 ].
Juvenile arthritis – HCP’ s program received grant funding from the Australian Government.