Use of New ACC/AHA 2017 guidelines for estimation of prevalence of hypertension among adult population visiting a Tertiary Care Hospital of Eastern India

ABSTRACT

Background: In November, 2017, the American College of Cardiology (ACC) and American Heart Association (AHA) released new guidelines for classification of hypertension among adults. JNC 7 guidelines are most used till now. The present study aimed to measure the burden of hypertension among adult population using new ACC/AHA guidelines and to compare it with JNC 7. Method: A descriptive cross sectional study was carried over a period of one month as a part of MBBS student project. Blood pressure of hospital visitors/attendants was measured using Omron HEM-8711 blood pressure monitor with standard technique. A total of 437 participants were got measured their blood pressure. Result: 31.6% of participants self-reported their hypertensive state. Out of 299 participants who were now aware about their blood pressure status, 55% labelled as hypertensive using new ACC/AHA guidelines as compared to only 22% with earlier JNC 7 guidelines.