Behavior pattern A and compliance with antihypertensive treatment.

An analysis was performed on cross-sectional data on 512 hypertensive patients to look at the association of behavior pattern A (coronary prone behavior) and compliance with therapy. In a home interview behavior pattern A was assessed by a questionnaire (The Bortner scale), compliance by a vignette, and blood pressure was measured. Noncompliers showed a higher degree of Type A characteristics, that is there was a significant negative association between behavior pattern A and compliance (p = 0.02). It is proposed that a new variable, behavior pattern A, should be considered in future research on compliance.