PREVALENCE OF HYPERENSION IN YOUNGER POPULATION ACCORDING TO NEW ACC GUIDELINES 2017

Objective: To estimate the prevalence of hypertension in our younger population according to new guidelines released by American College of Cardiology in 2017. Study Design: Descriptive cross sectional study. Place and Duration of Study: Army Cardiac Centre Lahore, from Feb 2019 to Apr 2019. Methodology: One hundred and ninety seven people were enrolled in the study as per inclusive criteria. Two blood pressure measurements were taken 5 minutes apart using proper technique as described in ACC/AHA guidelines and then average blood pressure of the recorded readings was used to calculate the results. Results: Out of 197 patients enrolled in the study, 103 (52.28%) were females and 94 (47.71%) were males. Age varied from 18 to 60 years with a mean age of 30.87 ± 5.76. Maximum number of individuals i.e. 109 (55.32%) were within 21-30 years. Out of 197, 105 (53.3%) were having normal blood pressure i.e. 140mmHG or diastolic blood pressure >90 mmHG. Conclusion: Our findings highlighted the prevalence of silent hypertension in apparently normal individuals and the necessity to overcome this increasing disease burden.