TÄISKASVANUD KÕRGVERERÕHKTÕVE PATSIENTIDE TEADLIKKUS VERERÕHU RISKITEGURITEST, OHJAMISEST, TÜSISTUSTEST JA NENDE ENNETAMISEST
Awareness of risk factors, management, complications and prevention in adult patients with hypertension
Eve-Merike Sooväli MSc, Piret Simm MScHS, Liina Animägi MPH, Evelin Annusver, Riti Saage, Railika Toim Abstract Arterial hypertension is one of the main risk factors in case of cardiovascular diseases and in renal impairment. Scientists all over the world have explored patient awareness of hypertension risk factors, nonetheless, elevated blood pressure is still a serious global issue in public health. A common problem regarding hypertensive patients in Estonia is lack of or inadequate management of elevated blood pressure that may result from various reasons, e.g. patients’ inadequate awareness of lifestyle modifications to decrease blood pressure, improper adherence to treatment or noncompliance with it. Many hypertensive patients are not aware of lifestyle modifications that are one of the most important and cheapest ways of influencing blood pressure, or have implemented it to a limited extent. The purpose of this descriptive quantitative research study was to explore the awareness of blood pressure, hypertension risk factors, hypertension management and complications and attitudes to blood pressure values in adult patients with hypertension. To determine the relationships between patients’ age, educational level, sex and their awareness. The population comprised all the adult patients (N=9482) with hypertension diagnosis (RHK I 10) who had visited their family doctor and/or a medical specialist from 01.01.2012 to 31.12.2012 and had been issued an invoice for the Health Insurance Fund. 175 participants had died by the time the study was carried out, consequently the final population of the study comprised 58
