The evolution of essential hypertension in a primary prophylactic survey. Ten-year longitudinal epidemiologic study (1971-1982).

: The present work presents the evolution over a ten-year period of subjects with essential hypertension (EH) detected in a group of 5,000 men, aged 40-60 years, randomly selected in an urban environment. The prevalence of EH in the group studied was 20.5%, whereas "borderline" hypertension presented a prevalence of 21.4% reported in an earlier study. A proportion of 76.6% of the hypertensive patients were cared for in an outpatient unit; normal blood pressure values were obtained in about one third of the cases. This result is consistent in itself and, all the more so, bearing in mind ageing of the patients in the course of the study. The study had in view the annual incidence of essential hypertension and the evolution of atherogenic risk factors in hypertensive patients. The incidence of cerebrovascular accidents during the follow up period in this group was 6.85%, sudden death 1.7% and myocardial infarction 6.2%.