Predictors of adherence to antihypertensive treatment and the association of adherence with acute cardiovascular (CV) events were explored in data from 18,806 newly diagnosed hypertensive Italians aged ≥35 years during the years 2000 to 2001. They were initially free of CV diseases. At baseline (i.e., 6 months after index diagnosis), 8.1%, 40.5%, and 51.4% of patients were classified as having high (≥80% of medication days), intermediate (40%–79% of days), and low (≤40% of days) adherence levels, respectively. Factors significantly associated with high adherence to antihypertensive treatment included multiple drug treatment, dyslipidaemia, diabetes mellitus, obesity, and antihypertensive combination therapy. Compared with their low-adherence counterparts, only high adherers reported a significantly decreased risk of acute cardiovascular events (HR 0.62; p=0.032).
