THE PREVALENCE AND AWARENESS OF HYPERTENSION AMONG ISRAELI ARABS

The prevalence and awareness of hypertension among Israeli Arabs was e valuated by measuring blood pressure (BP), heart rate, height and weig ht in a group of 412 subjects, 176 women and 236 men, mean age 38.4+/- 18 (range 12-87 years) residing in Northern Israel. All subjects compl eted a questionnaire that included medical and family history and habi ts. Hypertension was defined when the subject used antihypertensive tr eatment or measured systolic BP was >140 mm Hg and/or diastolic BP was >90 mm Hg. BP was related to age, body mass index, gender, place of l iving (urban or rural), tobacco use, and level of physical activity, I t was not related to coffee and alcohol use, and dietary sodium, The p revalence of hypertension in this group was 26.7%, similar to that in the general Israeli population, Only 9.7% were aware of their hyperten sion. The level of unawareness was significantly higher in the urban d wellers than in rural dwellers: 20.7% vs 12.8% (P < 0.05). This especi ally high rate among urban dwellers should be taken into account in de signing screening programmes to detect hypertension in this population .