Prevalence, awareness, treatment and control of hypertension in Hellas (Greece): The Hypertenshell National Study (hypertension study in general practice in Hellas

Abstract

The Hypertension Study in General practice in Hellas (Hypertenshell) is a cross-sectional survey tool much like NHANES to assess the prevalence, level of awareness, treatment and control of hypertension in Greece. It was conducted with the collaboration of physicians in 98 Health Centers, across Greece. The survey included an interview, blood pressure measurements on two clinical visits for verification of diagnosis and control of hypertension. Hypertension was defined as systolic BP≥140 mmHg and or diastolic BP≥90 mmHg, or current treatment with antihypertensive drugs, while the same threshold was taken for the assessment of control of hypertension. As a result 11950 inhabitants participated and 11540 were analyzed (% of the Greek population (11540/10.9 million-0.1%) (NHANES is 50 million / 290million-17%). The prevalence of hypertension was 31.1% (men 33.62%, women 28.4%), while in the elderly (> 65 years) the prevalence was higher (65.4%). A proportion of 39.8% of hypertensives they did not know that they suffer from hypertension (43% of men and 37% of women), giving an awareness of 60.2% (43% of men and 37% of women); 12.4% were aware but not treated (men 13.1%, women 11.8%), 18.4% were treated but not controlled (men 17.8%, women 18.8%), and were treated and controlled (men 33.3%, women 32.3%). We conclude that Hypertenshell's study results show that hypertension is a common risk factor for cardiovascular disease in the Greek population, but awareness, treatment and control of hypertension are comparable to the best figures given for the problem, but there is a considerable potential for improvement in the control further.