Background: Hypertension is a major
public health problem in
India and considered as a silent killer
disease . The national program for prevention and control of
cancer , diabetes, CVD and
stroke (NPCDCS) recommended opportunistic
screening for
hypertension at all levels
health facility . The present study was conducted with the objectives to estimate the
magnitude of
hypertension among the General OPD attendees
aged 18 years and above in
tertiary care hospital in a district of West Bengal and to find out the factors influencing
hypertension among them.
Methods: The study was a
hospital based observational, descriptive study with cross sectional design and conducted among 244 study participants in 2018. Study variables included socio demographic factors and both modifiable and non-modifiable
risk factors for
hypertension .
Results: In this study 40.2% subjects had normal
blood pressure , 18.4% were known hypertensive and 101 (41.3%) people were newly diagnosed as having
high blood pressure . Among known hypertensive, 75% had poor control of
hypertension . Age,
religion ,
family history of
hypertension ,
body mass index (BMI) and
central obesity had significant
association with
hypertension .
Conclusions: The study recommended strengthening of opportunistic
screening of all
patients for
hypertension at all levels of
health care , especially through the village
health nutrition day platform and providing
treatment free of
cost .
Awareness generation and counselling for
lifestyle modification should also be strengthened.