A 3-year follow-up of hypertension in Delhi

A follow-up study of hypertension was carried out among adults in Delhi 3 years after an initial community-based epidemiological survey of the same population. The treatment and the severity status of 1115 out of 1749 individuals with hypertension detected in the initial survey were compared with those observed in the follow-up. The proportion of treated cases with controlled blood pressure rose from 10.8% to 60.8%. Among the cohort of 3611 subjects aged 25-64 years who were normotensive in the initial survey, 132 new cases of hypertension, were detected. The annual incidence of hypertension was the same in men and women (12.2 per 1000). Diabetes and regular alcohol consumption were significant risk factors for hypertension, being present in 13 and 7 cases, respectively. Electrocardiograms (ECGs) were recorded for 871 of the 1115 cases of hypertension. Abnormal ECGs were exhibited by 307 cases (35.2%), of which 24 (2.7%) had had myocardial infarction, 133 (15.3%) had ischaemic ST-T changes, 54 (6.2%) had left ventricular hypertrophy, and 96 (11.0%) had conduction defects and arrhythmias.