Epidemiological Aspects of Arterial Hypertension in Lavras da Mangabeira – Ceará – Brazil

Abstract

SUMMARY Objective: Check on the effectiveness of epidemiological treatment of Arterial Hypertension (AH) in a Family Health Program, Unit 4 in Lavras da Mangabeira, CE. Material and Methods: Sampling comprised of 56 patients belonging to a hypertensive group and recorded on the Information System of Basic Attention (ISBA) of that municipality until April, 2005. From these patients, 18% were male and 82% female with their ages varying from 42 to 97 years old. Data was acquired from an interview form concerned with treatment effectiveness, the last piece of information on the hypertensive patient card. Patients Patients who had either lost or hadn’t received their card, or who had their last health test more than two months previous to the interview date, were submitted to check their Arterial Pressure (AP) with an aneroid sphygmomanometer duly calibrated according to procedure, for a seated posture. Data was analyzed through descriptive statistics using distribution and an average frequency. Results: AH was up by 1.86% and its treatment was not considered satisfactory for most hypertensive (62.5%); the majority of patients performed no physical activity (80.4%). Concerning body mass index (BMI), 66.1% of interviewees were above the ideal weight and 33.9% were normal. Conclusion: A considerable number of patients had unsatisfactory PA control and this pathology was found mostly among women. We noticed that most hypertensive patients didn’t do any kind of physical activity). DESCRIPTIORS Hypertension. Epidemiology Family Health Program