Prevalence, Awareness, Treatment and Control of Hypertension in Residents’ Sample of Luanda, Angola

Abstract

Hypertension (HTN) is an important risk factor for cardiovascular complications and is considered a public health problem worldwide. We aimed to evaluate the prevalence, awareness, treatment and control of HTN in a population sample in Luanda, Angola. A cross-sectional study was carried out which included 1480 individuals, between May 2018 and June 2019; we recruited participants at three different points of the city. Blood pressure (BP) was measured with semi-automatic device (Omron®, EM-7131-E). For each participant, three BP measurements were taken after 5 minutes resting and the mean of the two last measurements was used for systolic and diastolic BP. HTN was defined as BP ≥140/90 mmHg or use of antihypertensive drugs. The sample included mostly young people (39.7±11.6 years old) and male (69.3%). HTN prevalence was 34.9%; 47.4% of patients were aware of their condition; 36.8% were taking medication and of these only 35.8% had BP under control. There was a positive correlation between BP and age. The prevalence of HTN was high, almost half of the patients were unaware and, among the hypertensive patients who were under medication, most of them did not have their BP under control. HTN prevalence was high; awareness, treatment and control were low.