Compliance to antihypertensive drugs, salt restriction, exercise and control of systemic hypertension in hypertensive patients at Abbottabad.

BACKGROUND Hypertension is one of the most important cardiovascular risk factor but its control is still a challenge for physicians all around the world. Control of blood pressure can reduce cardiovascular morbidity and mortality, so the compliance to antihypertensive drugs and life style modification play an important role for the control of hypertension. This analytical (cross-sectional) study was conducted to assess prevalence of control of hypertension among hypertensive patients and to assess the relationship of control of hypertension with factors like compliance to antihypertensive drugs, salt restriction and exercise among the hypertensive patients. This study was conducted at outpatient clinic of medicine at Shahina Jamil Hospital Abbottabad from April 2007 to September 2007. METHODS Eighty-nine patients seen in the outpatient clinic of medicine were enrolled in the study. All the patients with age 15 years or above, diagnosed as a case of systemic hypertension were included. RESULTS Among eighty-nine patients, 67 were female and 22 were male with mean age of 55.8 +/- 13.4 years, mean systolic and diastolic blood pressure of 160 +/- 28.6 and 97.8 +/- 14.1 mm Hg respectively, and pulse rate of 85.9 +/- 11.4 per minutes. Out of 89 patients, 25.8% were having controlled hypertension, 48.3% were compliant and 51.7% were not compliant to antihypertensive drugs, 55.1% were having salt restriction and 44.9% were having no salt restriction and 23.6% were used to do physical activity while 76.4% were not used to do physical activity. In group A consisted of patients with controlled hypertension, 95.7% patients were compliant to antihypertensive patients, 95.7% were having salt restriction, and 43.5% were used to do physical activity. In group B consisted of patients with uncontrolled hypertension, only 31.8% were compliant to antihypertensive drugs, 40.9% were having salt restriction, 16.7% were used to do physical activity. CONCLUSION Hypertension can be controlled if the hypertensive patients have good compliance to antihypertensive drugs, salt restriction and do some sort of physical activity regularly and in this way, prevent themselves from the hypertensive complications.