PP.LB02.06: POPULATION PERCEPTION SURVEY ON HYPERTENSION. (June 2015)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Pinto, F.; Martins, L.
• Is Part Of: Journal of hypertension. Volume 33(2015)Supplement 1
• Publication Date: 2015-06
• Subjects: Hypertension -- Periodicals; Hypertension -- Periodicals; 616.132005
• DOI: 10.1097/01.hjh.0000468571.88253.a1
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 1473-5598

Abstract

Abstract : Objective: Evaluate the changes of population's perception about prevention and management of hypertension over the last 10 years in Portugal. Figure. No caption available. Design and method: The Portuguese Society of Hypertension (PSH) also has the role of Hypertension League. Since its foundation in 2004, to spread and make public the importance of prevention, early diagnosis and management of hypertension (HTN), PSH projected, promoted, supported and implemented numerous initiatives on the Portuguese mass media. In December 2014, to verify the results of those actions, we performed a survey in a sample of 500 subjects' representative of adult population of Portugal mainland. The results were compared with those of similar surveys performed in 2007 and 2009. Interviews were conducted by experienced investigators, in the street, usually near a pharmacy, through a structured questionnaire of closed questions, identical to the questionnaire of the previous studies. Results: The main results of the questionnaire are shown in Table 1. Conclusions: We conclude that the initiatives of PSH on mass media during the last decade had a vital role/strongly contributed to a better knowledge of the general population regarding the causes and the consequences of high blood pressure, mainly about the key role of excessive salt intake. This better information may have helped the impressive results of PHYSA study recently published which showed a reduction of 1.2 g/day of salt intake in an 8 years period in parallel with a better treatment and control of HTN and with a 46% reduction in stroke mortality. Because this policy is of central importance in a country where salt consumption is one of the highest (10.7 g/day) in Europe (and even in the whole World) and cardiovascular diseases are the most important cause of death, being responsible for one third of all deaths and, unlikely most of the western European countries, around 2/3 of these deaths are due to stroke, PSH must continue with this attitude in the near future.