The prevalence and awareness of hypertension among Israeli Arabs

The prevalence and awareness of hypertension among Israeli Arabs was evaluated by measuring blood pressure (BP), heart rate, height and weight in a group of 412 subjects, 176 women and 236 men, mean age 38.4 +/- 18 (range 12-87 years) residing in Northern Israel. All subjects completed a questionnaire that included medical and family history and habits. Hypertension was defined when the subject used antihypertensive treatment or measured systolic BP was > 140 mm Hg and/or diastolic BP was > 90 mm Hg. BP was related to age, body mass index, gender, place of living (urban or rural), tobacco use, and level of physical activity. It was not related to coffee and alcohol use, and dietary sodium. The prevalence of hypertension in this group was 26.7%, similar to that in the general Israeli population. Only 9.7% were aware of their hypertension. The level of unawareness was significantly higher in the urban dwellers than in rural dwellers: 20.7% vs 12.8% (P < 0.05). This especially high rate among urban dwellers should be taken into account in designing screening programmes to detect hypertension in this population.