Blood pressure in Spain - Distribution, awareness, control, and benefits of a reduction in average pressure

Distribution of blood pressure (as per US Joint National Committee VI class ification and staging criteria) plus awareness, treatment, and control of h ypertension were studied in a representative Spanish population sample of 2 021 persons (age range, 35 to 64 years). Pressure was determined in accorda nce with World Health Organization guidelines. A total of 45.1% of subjects were hypertensive (greater than or equal to 140/greater than or equal to 9 0 mm Hg or undergoing drug therapy); 12% had isolated systolic hypertension , and 8.7% had isolated diastolic hypertension. Pulse pressure was 48.7 mm Hg, Heart rate was 81.4 bpm in untreated hypertensives and 78.9 bpm in norm otensives (P<0.05). A substantial proportion of the community burden of blo od pressure was attributable to stage 1 (28.3% of subjects), the most frequ ent category of hypertension, and to the high-normal blood pressure group ( 17% of subjects). A percentage breakdown showed that among hypertensives, 4 4.5% were aware of their condition; of these, 71.9% were undergoing drug th erapy, and of those being treated, only 15.5% were controlled (5% of hypert ensives). Not only are these figures consistent with the fact that Spain ha s a higher cerebrovascular mortality than other countries such as the Unite d States, but they represent a great potential for improvement, particularl y among those groups registering relatively worse data (younger men, rural residents, and unskilled professionals). A decrease of only 1 to 4 mm Hg in average blood pressure could reduce the prevalence of hypertension in Spai n by 12.4% to 15.4%.