In this issue of the Postgraduate Medical Journal, a blood pressure control rate of over 90% was reported by a teaching primary healthcare centre in Jordan.1 This is remarkable, if not miraculous, compared with blood pressure control rates in other parts of the world, including the USA.2

Admittedly, this was an observational study of only 286 patients with hypertension attending a well-run, round-the-clock primary healthcare centre serving university staff and their families, and university students. These patients with hypertension were therefore generally younger and healthier than typical subjects in epidemiological studies. They were also self-selecting in that they were registered …