Assessment of Knowledge, Attitudes and Practice of General Public Attending El Shohada Primary Health Care Unit Regarding Hypertension
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Abstract
Hypertension a silent killer is a major risk factor for cardiovascular disease worldwide and is one of the most important reasons to visit to physician. Hypertension leads to various complications as increased risk of stroke. Good control of blood pressure will result in prolonged survival. Increasing the knowledge, awareness, and control of hypertension will reduce morbidity and mortality. Studies show that many patients did not have appropriate knowledge about hypertension. Hypertension, referred to as high blood pressure, is a condition in which the arteries have persistently elevated blood pressure. The normal level for blood pressure is below 120/80, where 120 represent the systolic measurements and 80 represent the diastolic measurement. Blood pressure of 140/90 or above is considered hypertension. Though the exact causes of hypertension are usually unknown,there are several factors that have been highly associated with the condition. These include smoking, obesity or being overweight, being obese as a child, diabetes, lack of physical activity, aging, socioeconomic changes favoring sedentary habits, alcohol consumption, and high levels of salt intake. There is no guarantee that a person with hypertension will present any symptoms of the condition. About 33% of people actually do not know that they have high blood pressure, and this ignorance can last for years. For this reason, it is advisable to undergo periodic blood pressure screenings even when no symptoms are present. Hypertension speeds up brain aging!! As young and middle aged people with high blood pressure have a higher risk of accelerated brain aging, scientists from the University of California Davis reported in The lancet (November 2, 2012 issue). To achieve the good control of blood pressure, the programs like national public health programs and initiatives such as the National High Blood Pressure Education Programs as in U.S are required15. Considering the high morbidity and mortality due to hypertension, and knowing that if a patient has knowledge about the disease, patient will be more careful about the management, and a better control can be achieved.
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, A. E. A. H. sleem, M. I. H. O. A. F. A. S. A. E. A. A. R. S. (2015). Assessment of Knowledge, Attitudes and Practice of General Public Attending El Shohada Primary Health Care Unit Regarding Hypertension. International Journal on Recent Trends in Life Science and Mathematics, 2(12), 16–20. Retrieved from https://www.ijlsm.org/index.php/ijlsm/article/view/59
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