Evidence map›Paper›PMID 42760462›Full record

ArticleJournal of general internal medicine2026

Physicians' Beliefs About Treating Asymptomatic Elevated Blood Pressure Readings Among Hospitalized Patients.

Elizabeth R Pfoh, Che' Matthew Harris, Meenu Singh, Matthew A Pappas, Michael I Ellenbogen, Jason Shiffermiller, Farah Acher A Kaiksow, Valerie M Vaughn, Michael B Rothberg

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Article in Journal of general internal medicine, 2026. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Not yet cited in PubMed.

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4 · The record

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5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

9 authors.

Elizabeth R PfohCenter for Value-Based Care Research, Cleveland Clinic, Cleveland, OH, USA. pfohe@ccf.org.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0003-3485-260X
Che' Matthew HarrisDepartment of Medicine, Johns Hopkins School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD, USA.
Meenu SinghDepartment of Internal Medicine, Spencer Fox Eccles School of Medicine, University of Utah, Salt Lake City, UT, USA.
Matthew A PappasCenter for Value-Based Care Research, Cleveland Clinic, Cleveland, OH, USA.
Michael I EllenbogenDepartment of Medicine, Johns Hopkins School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD, USA.
Jason ShiffermillerDivision of Hospital Medicine, University of Nebraska Medical Center, Omaha, NE, USA.
Farah Acher A KaiksowDivision of Hospital Medicine, Department of Medicine, University of Wisconsin School of Medicine and Public Health, Madison, WI, USA.
Valerie M VaughnDepartment of Internal Medicine, Spencer Fox Eccles School of Medicine, University of Utah, Salt Lake City, UT, USA.
Michael B RothbergCenter for Value-Based Care Research, Cleveland Clinic, Cleveland, OH, USA.

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

backgroundCurrently, there is no high-quality evidence guiding the treatment of asymptomatic elevated BP readings in hospitalized patients.

objectiveWe conducted a nationwide survey of hospitalists to identify their preferences for treating patients with asymptomatic elevated BP readings.

methodsThis cross-sectional survey was conducted at five institutions in 2024. The questions, written by the research team, asked about physicians' approach and preferences for intensifying antihypertensive medications for inpatients with asymptomatic elevated BP. We defined "elevated BP" as ≥ 140/90 mmHg and < 210/120 mmHg. We performed a descriptive analysis of the responses and compared responses across sites.

resultsWe received 166 responses (response rate ranged from 24 to 64% across five hospitals). There was variation in the importance of treating asymptomatically elevated BP with 27% (n = 45) agreeing it important and 47% disagreeing. This response was similar across all sites. The median threshold for intensification was 170-179 mmHg. Most physicians reported that they would be more likely to treat patients with a history of heart failure (73%), stroke (73%), myocardial infarction (64%), or coronary disease (57%). Physicians reported strong agreement that they "prefer not to be contacted by nurses about an asymptomatic systolic BP reading < 170 mmHg" and agreed that "treatment is driven by nurses calling physicians."

conclusionAlmost half of the physicians believed that in the hospital setting, asymptomatic elevated BP should not be routinely treated.

Identifiers

PMID42760462

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Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.