Abstract
BackgroundLow levels of detection, treatment and control of hypertension have repeatedly been reported from sub Saharan Africa, potentially increasing the likelihood of target organ damage.MethodsA cross-sectional study was conducted on 1015 urban civil servants aged≥25 years from seven central government ministries in Accra, Ghana. Participants diagnosed to have hypertension were examined for target organ involvement. Hypertensive target organ damage was defined as the detection of any of the following: left ventricular hypertrophy diagnosed by electrocardiogram, reduction in glomerular filtration rate, the presence of hypertensive retinopathy or a history of a stroke.ResultsOf the 219 hypertensive participants examined, 104 (47.5%) had evidence of target organ damage. The presence of target organ damage was associated with higher systolic and diastolic blood pressure levels. The odds of developing hypertensive target organ damage was five to six times higher in participants with blood pressure (BP)≥180/110 mmHg compared to those with BP<140/90 mmHg, and there was a trend to higher odds of target organ damage with increasing BP (p = 0.001). Women had about lower odds of developing target organ damage compared to men.ConclusionsThe high prevalence of target organ damage in this working population associated with increasing blood pressure, emphasises the need for hypertension control programs aimed at improving the detection of hypertension, and importantly addressing the issues inhibiting the effective treatment and control of people with hypertension in the population.
Highlights
Hypertension is considered to be a major public health problem on the African continent
Of particular concern are the low levels of detection, treatment and control of hypertension reported from studies conducted in sub Saharan Africa (SSA).[5,6,7,8,9]
Most of the disease burden caused by high blood pressure worldwide is reported to be borne by low and middle-income countries including some countries in SSA.[11,12]
Summary
Hypertension is considered to be a major public health problem on the African continent It is of immense economic importance because of the high prevalence in urban areas, frequent underdiagnosis and the severity of complications.[1,2,3,4] Of particular concern are the low levels of detection, treatment and control of hypertension reported from studies conducted in sub Saharan Africa (SSA).[5,6,7,8,9] The reported poor control increases the possibility of developing complications of hypertension with potential damage to the prime target organs of hypertensive damage including the heart, kidney, brain and arterial blood vessels, with a worsening of the prognosis.[10] Most of the disease burden caused by high blood pressure worldwide is reported to be borne by low and middle-income countries including some countries in SSA.[11,12] In addition, people of black African origin have been identified as having a higher risk of target organ damage compared to white people for a given blood pressure.[13,14,15]. Treatment and control of hypertension have repeatedly been reported from sub Saharan Africa, potentially increasing the likelihood of target organ damage
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