Blood Pressure Status During Consultation: A Primary Care Study
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ORIGINAL ARTICLE
Blood Pressure Status During Consultation: A Primary Care Study Yousef Abdullah Al Turki
Received: 19 May 2014 / Accepted: 7 August 2014 Ó Springer International Publishing Switzerland 2014
Abstract Introduction Blood pressure control needs to be assessed at a primary care level, which is the first contact with patients. Aims To evaluate blood pressure readings among patients visiting a primary care clinic at a teaching university hospital in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. Methods A cross-sectional study was conducted in a primary care clinic at the King Khalid University Hospital from April to September 2013. Blood pressure readings were measured by trained nurses working in a primary care clinic during patients’ visits. Results The study showed that only 33.6 % of participants had a normal blood pressure reading, and 49.3 % of participants were diagnosed as hypertensive patients. The study showed that 74.7 % do not exercise, and 45 % have high stress levels in their life. Conclusion Uncontrolled blood pressure was common at this hospital-based primary care clinic, so it is recommended to educate primary care physicians to take care of blood pressure management and to educate and encourage patients about non-pharmacological advice like losing weight and coping with stress. Keywords
Blood pressure Primary care Control
Y. A. Al Turki (&) Department of Family and Community Medicine, College of Medicine, Kind Saud University, P.O. Box 28054, Riyadh 11437, Saudi Arabia e-mail: [email protected]
1 Introduction Arterial hypertension is a common health problem which needs to be evaluated early to prevent health complications among patients with high blood pressure. High blood pressure is a silent killer, as most patients are asymptomatic in the general population, so it is very important to diagnose early arterial hypertension among patients visiting primary care clinics. Blood pressure monitoring is probably the most common tool used in clinical practice and the most common reason to start long-term pharmacological treatment. Recent guidelines for the use of ambulatory monitoring of blood pressure recommend its use in both initial diagnosis (before starting treatment) and assessing control [1]. High blood pressure is a major public health issue. Its prevalence increases dramatically with age, and despite the availability of effective antihypertensive agents, rates of hypertension treatment and blood pressure control have remained low. The first step in the struggle with arterial hypertension is to obtain an accurate measurement, leading to appropriate diagnosis and treatment decisions [2]. Hypertension is usually defined by the presence of a chronic elevation of systemic arterial pressure above a certain threshold value. However, increasing evidence indicates that the cardiovascular (CV) risk associated with elevation of blood pressure (BP) above approximately 115/75 mmHg increases in a log-linear fashion [3]. The prevalence of hypertension is increasing in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, affecting more
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