May Measurement Month 2019: an analysis of blood pressure screening results from Ecuador
Author(s)
Type
Journal Article
Abstract
Arterial hypertension is a growing burden worldwide, leading to over 10.8 million deaths each year. In Ecuador, it is the main risk factor for the major cause of death, coronary, and cerebrovascular disease [GBD 2017 Risk Factor Collaborators. Global, regional, and national comparative risk assessment of 84 behavioral, environmental and occupational, and metabolic risks or clusters of risks for 195 countries and territories, 1990-2017: a systematic analysis for the Global Burden of Disease Study 2017. Lancet 2018;392:1923-1994]. The May Measurement Month Campaign in 2019 (MMM19) is a global initiative of the International Society of Hypertension aimed at raising awareness of high blood pressure (BP) and to act as a temporary solution to the lack of screening programs worldwide. A volunteer cross-sectional survey was carried out in May 2019 across 42 health centres in Ecuador. The average age was 51 (SD ±17.6) years. Blood pressure measurement, the definition of hypertension (mean of the second and third BP measurement ≥140/90 mmHg or who were medicated for high BP), and statistical analysis followed the standard MMM protocol. In total, 15 885 volunteers participated in MMM19. After multiple imputation, 6654 (41.9%) had hypertension. Of individuals not receiving antihypertensive medication, 2383 (20.5%) were hypertensive. Of individuals receiving antihypertensive medication, 1004 (23.5%) had uncontrolled BP. May Measurement Month 2019 was the largest BP screening campaign done in Ecuador. In the survey, including 6654 participants with hypertension, only 49.1% had their BP values controlled (<140/90 mmHg). May Measurement Month 2019 demonstrated a high prevalence of hypertension among volunteer screenees in our country. The high percentage of persons untreated or with uncontrolled hypertension while on pharmacologic treatment suggest that appropriate screening can help to identify a significant number of people with high BP. These data should attract the attention of health care providers and the healthcare system in Ecuador.
Date Issued
2021-05-20
Date Acceptance
2020-11-27
Citation
European Heart Journal Supplements, 2021, 23 (Suppl B), pp.B55-B58
ISSN
1520-765X
Publisher
European Society of Cardiology
Start Page
B55
End Page
B58
Journal / Book Title
European Heart Journal Supplements
Volume
23
Issue
Suppl B
Copyright Statement
© The Author(s) 2021.This is an Open Access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution Non-Commercial License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/), which permits non-commercial re-use, distribution, and reproduction in anymedium, provided the original work is properly cited. For commercial re-use, please contact journals.permissions@oup.com
License URL
Identifier
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/34054364
PII: suab057
Subjects
Blood pressure
Control
Ecuador
Hypertension
Screening
Treatment
Publication Status
Published
Coverage Spatial
England