CHICAGO, Jan 22 (Reuters) - Aggressive treatment and lower thresholds for diagnosis have put high blood pressure under better control in the United States than parts of Western Europe, according to a study published on Monday.

The report from Temple University Hospital and University of Pennsylvania in Philadelphia was based on information from more than 21,000 patients in the United States, France, Germany, Italy, Spain and the United Kingdom in 2004.

Among other things, the study found that high blood pressure was considered to be under control in 53 percent of the U.S. patients compared with 27-40 percent in the European countries.

"Our findings suggest that better hypertension control in the United States may be explained by lower treatment thresholds and more intensive treatment, both of which are consistent with the more aggressive treatment guidelines in the United States," concluded the study published in the Archives of Internal Medicine.

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