Hypertension – Surveillance And Screening For Target Organ Damage

Abstract

Introduction: Arterial hypertension is defined as systolic blood pressure (BP) in the office ≥140 mmHg and/or diastolic BP ≥90 mmHg. It has a global prevalence in adults of 30-45% and is considered the leading preventable cause of cardiovascular disease and all-cause mortality. Hypertension can cause structural or functional changes in major organs, designated hypertension-mediated organ damage. Standard examination of target organ damage is recommended for all hypertensive patients through analytical study [complete blood count, fasting glucose and/or glycated hemoglobin (HbA1c), lipid profile, electrolytes, uric acid, creatinine, liver function, albumin/creatinine ratio] and electrocardiogram.
Objective: To assess the prevalence of patients diagnosed with hypertension in a family health unit (FHU) with evaluation of systolic and diastolic blood pressure, body mass índex (BMI), and analytical study.
Material and Methods: Cross-sectional descriptive observational study, involving users enrolled in the FHU diagnosed with hypertension in September/2023. Variables such as sex, age, systolic and diastolic BP, BMI, creatinine, microalbuminuria, total cholesterol, low-density lipoprotein (LDL) cholesterol, high-density lipoprotein (HDL) cholesterol, triglycerides, and HbA1c were analyzed with results from 2022/2023. Data were collected from the MIM@UF and SClínico® programs and analyzed using Excel2013®.
Results: 6671 users were identified with a diagnosis of hypertension, with 55,5% (n=3702) being female, with a mean age of 70,1 years. Of these, 96,2% (n=6417) had assessment of systolic and diastolic BP, and 88,2% (n=5881) had assessment of BMI. Regarding laboratory evaluation, 85,6% (n=5710) had a record of LDL cholesterol, 88,9% (n=5928) of total cholesterol, 87,2% (n=5814) of HDL cholesterol, 87,3% (n=5824) of triglycerides, 87,9% (n=5866) of creatinine, 65,5% (n=4367) of microalbuminuria, and 43,8% (n=2920) of HbA1c.
Discussion and Conclusion: It was found that 34,4% of FHU users have a diagnosis of hypertension, with the majority undergoing the necessary investigation. BP was assessed in more users than BMI, so it’s important to reinforce this evaluation for better control of this risk factor. Regarding laboratory studies, microalbuminuria was the least frequently performed analysis.