Prevalence of peripheral artery disease in adult hypertensive patients in Nnewi, Nigeria

Abstract

Background: Peripheral artery disease (PAD) is usually due to artherosclerosis obliterans of the arteries of the lower limbs. Patients with PAD are at increased risk of mortality from major cardiovascular events, such as myocardial infarction and stroke. This study aims to find the prevalence of peripheral artery disease in adult hypertensive subjects in Nnewi. Materials and Methods : The study was carried out among adult hypertensive subjects in the medical outpatient clinics and the medical wards of the NnamdiAzikiwe University Teaching Hospital, Nnewi.Two-hundred and fifty subjects were recruited between August 2004 and December 2004 for this study. The Rose Intermittent Claudication Questionnaire was administered and the Ankle-Brachial Index (ABI) was assessed with a hand-held Doppler device. PAD was defined as ABI > 0.9.TheEpi info (2002 version) statistical software was used for statistical analysis. Results: The mean age of the study subjects was 58.9±8.9 years. They comprises106 (42.5%) males and 144 (57.6%) females. The overall prevalence of PAD was 24.8% in the total study group. The ratio of asymptomatic to symptomatic subjects was 3.4:1. Hypertensive subjects with diabetes mellitus had a slightly higher prevalence rate (26%), compared to those with hypertension only (24%). The prevalence of PAD was much higher in patients above 55 years (30.7%) than in those below 55 yearsof age (15.5%). Conclusion : Peripheral artery disease is common, though largely asymptomatic in Nigerian hypertensive subjects. More efforts at screening and unmasking subjects are required.