B. Hypertension and Maintenance Medication Use

Hypertension as a chronic condition

Hypertension is generally a chronic condition: a normal reading during treatment indicates control at that time, not necessarily that the underlying tendency to elevated blood pressure has resolved. Many patients therefore need ongoing blood-pressure assessment and continued medication, with the regimen adjusted when clinically indicated. A five-year cohort of 22,027 adults who began antihypertensive treatment found that persistence declined over follow-up: 88.8% met the study’s persistence definition in year one, while 52.7% remained persistent throughout all five years. Medication changes were particularly common during the first year, consistent with treatment requiring review and adjustment rather than being a one-time prescription (Asiri, 2026).

Long-term trial evidence supports continued management. An individual-participant meta-analysis of 52 randomized trials involving 363 684 people found that blood-pressure-lowering treatment reduced blood pressure over an average four-year follow-up, although the effect was greatest after about 12 months and gradually attenuated thereafter (Canoy, 2022). In the U.S. REGARDS cohort, longer recognized hypertension duration was associated with more antihypertensive drug classes, higher average systolic pressure, and higher stroke risk; this observational association does not show that duration alone caused stroke, but it underscores the accumulated risk that ongoing prevention is intended to address (Howard, 2024). Stopping treatment should likewise be considered only with professional assessment: in a selected primary-care study of people with controlled pressure on one or two low-dose medicines and no reported cardiovascular risk factors or target-organ damage, 36% maintained the study’s home-pressure target for a year after stopping, while 64% restarted treatment (Boivin, 2026).

Long-term medication use

Long-term use involves both adherence—taking medication as agreed—and persistence—continuing treatment over time. In the five-year Dutch cohort, switching, intensifying, or reducing treatment was frequent in the first year, emphasizing that maintenance treatment may be modified as blood pressure and clinical circumstances change (Asiri, 2026). In a five-year observational cohort of 1,254 adults in Yunnan, the group classified as having sustained medication compliance had a larger average systolic-pressure decline than the poor-compliance group; the reported 2022 control rate in the sustained group reached 70%. Because participants were not randomly assigned to adherence groups and received care through a public-health program, these findings show an association rather than the isolated causal effect of taking medication (Ma, 2025).

The practical arrangements for obtaining medicine may also influence continuity. In a propensity-score-matched study of 25,625 pairs of adults with hypertension in China, prescriptions supplying more than 28 days of medication were associated with higher medication adherence and fewer cardiovascular hospitalizations during a median 180-day follow-up. These findings come from a retrospective observational cohort, not a randomized comparison (Huang, 2025). Philippine evidence also shows that continuing treatment does not automatically mean blood pressure is controlled: in the nationwide PRESYON-4 survey, reported treatment and compliance were relatively high, yet only 39% of treated participants had controlled pressure, and single-drug treatment remained common (Sison, 2021). Taken together, the evidence suggests that continuity matters, but it must be accompanied by follow-up and appropriate treatment review.

Importance of maintenance therapy

Maintenance therapy is important because blood-pressure control depends on sustained management rather than a short course taken only when symptoms occur. In the randomized-trial meta-analysis, antihypertensive treatment continued to lower blood pressure over several years and across participant subgroups, supporting the role of ongoing pharmacologic treatment in maintaining risk-factor control (Canoy, 2022). Philippine population evidence makes this need concrete: among people with hypertension in PRESYON-4, only 39% of those receiving treatment had controlled blood pressure, despite reported high treatment and compliance levels (Sison, 2021). This gap points to the need not only to keep taking prescribed medicines, but also to monitor pressure and review whether the treatment plan is effective.

Maintenance therapy also provides an opportunity to detect inadequate control and adjust treatment before a single reassuring reading is mistaken for resolution. In the STOP-Trial, withdrawal was studied only in carefully selected, closely monitored patients; most participants whose medication was stopped needed to restart it within one year (Boivin, 2026). Thus, treatment reduction may be appropriate for selected patients under clinical supervision, but the findings do not justify stopping medication independently. In Philippine low-income communities, longitudinal interviews also found that people’s treatment pathways could move between regular medication use, intermittent treatment, and self-care, illustrating why sustained, person-centred follow-up is part of maintenance care rather than an optional addition (Mendoza, 2021).

Issues affecting long-term medication use

Barriers to continued use are interrelated and occur at the patient, treatment, household, and health-system levels. Philippine evidence points to financial hardship and medicine access as important structural obstacles. A local survey of essential antihypertensive medicines in one fourth-class municipality found that selected medicines were less available in public than private facilities (12.96% versus 60.32%); some assessed carvedilol and enalapril regimens also cost more than a worker’s daily wage. Since this was a cross-sectional assessment in one municipality, it should not be taken as a national estimate, but it demonstrates how stock and affordability problems can disrupt regular treatment (Lat, 2025).

Beliefs and social circumstances can also shape adherence. A 12-month qualitative study with 34 participants from socioeconomically marginalized Philippine communities identified distinct patterns, including consistent adherence, consistent non-adherence, and changes in adherence over time. Positive views of medication and family support were common among consistently adherent participants; negative views, limited support, resistance to identifying as ill, and declining financial resources featured in less-adherent patterns (Seguin, 2022). A systematic review of Filipino studies similarly identified health literacy, understanding and perceptions of hypertension, self-efficacy, social support, treatment schedules, and health-service access as factors associated with adherence. The review cautioned that the underlying literature had methodological limitations, so these factors should be treated as reported associations rather than universal explanations (Gutierrez, 2021).

Hypertension’s often symptom-free course can further weaken the perceived need to continue therapy, especially when a patient feels well or sees a normal reading while taking medicine. Philippine qualitative research documented treatment pathways that shifted between regular and intermittent use, and sometimes toward self-care, indicating that people’s understanding of illness and treatment does not always align with clinical expectations (Mendoza, 2021). Regimen complexity and practical access are additional concerns: the local review identified inconsistent dosing schedules as a therapy-related adherence barrier, while the medicine-availability survey documented uneven supplies and affordability challenges (Gutierrez, 2021) (Lat, 2025).

Overall, long-term medication use is affected by more than individual motivation. Affordability and reliable supply, clear communication about the chronic nature of hypertension, manageable regimens, family support, and regular clinical review all matter. Philippine evidence is especially valuable for describing these local constraints, although several local studies are small, observational, or qualitative; they identify plausible barriers and experiences but do not establish that any single factor causes non-adherence.

Access to open sources: Open versions are available for the Philippine adherence systematic review (PDF), the Philippine longitudinal adherence study (DOAJ record), and the Philippine medicine availability/affordability study (full-text PDF). The Canoy meta-analysis is also cited above. Some other cited studies were available here only as abstracts; the corresponding DOI references should be checked for full-text access through the publisher or institutional library.