May Measurement Month 2021: an analysis of blood pressure screening results from Paraguay

The aim of this study was to highlight the importance of measuring blood pressure (BP) to identify new, known, and treated individuals with hypertension and to raise awareness in the general population about the importance of good BP control. In Paraguay, 3663 individuals aged ≥18 years of both sexes were recruited from May to November 2021 as part of the May Measurement Month (MMM) campaign, which was initiated by the International Society of Hypertension in 2017. Volunteers of 18 regional health teams applied the questionnaire provided by the MMM 2021 organization throughout the country. Due to COVID-19 constraints, the majority of the questionnaires (52.2%) were administered in health centres of the Ministry of Health and concluded with three BP and pulse readings using OMRON-automated BP measurement devices. Hypertension was defined as a systolic BP ≥ 140 mmHg or as a diastolic BP ≥ 90 mmHg or taking antihypertensive medication. We found that 57.4% of screenees were hypertensive and 72.9% of these (82.3% of women and 59.4% of men) had known hypertension. Of patients with hypertension, 70.1% were on antihypertensive medication, and 40.9% had controlled BP (<140/90 mmHg). Among hypertensives detected, 79.7% of women were on antihypertensive medication and 44.1% had controlled BP, while 56.4% of men were on treatment and 34.3% had controlled BP. In summary, we found high levels of hypertension with high rates of awareness and treatment particularly among women, although control rates were low particularly among men. This may be because most screening was conducted predominately in hospital settings.