ABSTRACT
AIM: To determine the risk factors and complications of hypertension, isolated systolic hypertension (ISH) and isolated diastolic hypertension (IDH) in Yaounde. METHODS AND RESULTS: Between January and September 1998 we examined 813 consecutive adult patients (46.5% men) in the Yaounde University Teaching Hospital, with special focus on risk factors of hypertension and clinical findings in the cardiovascular system. We measured systolic blood pressure, diastolic blood pressure, body mass index and plasma glucose, and recorded chest X-ray, electrocardiogram and echocardiogram. Hypertension, ISH and IDH were defined using the WHO-ISH 1999 criteria. After controlling for the confounding effects of age and sex, hypertension was significantly associated with obesity, family history of hypertension, alcohol intake, heart failure, stroke and left ventricular hypertrophy (p < 0.01); smoking was significantly associated with ISH (p = 0.04), and no factor was independently associated with IDH. CONCLUSIONS: A prevention strategy for hypertension and its resultant complications in Cameroon should include measures aimed at obesity and alcohol consumption, as well as early diagnosis with the institution of effective and affordable therapy.
