Hypertension among siblings of persons with premature coronary heart disease

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L R Yanek1, T F Moy, R S Blumenthal

  • 1Center for Health Promotion, The Johns Hopkins Medical Institutions, Baltimore, MD 21205, USA. lryanek@welchlink.welch.jhu.edu

Hypertension (Dallas, Tex. : 1979)
|July 23, 1998
PubMed

Insights

Hypertension is highly prevalent in siblings of premature coronary heart disease patients. Awareness, treatment, and control of high blood pressure are significantly lower in this high-risk group.

Area of Science:

  • Cardiology
  • Public Health
  • Genetics

Background:

  • Premature coronary heart disease (CHD) often has a familial component.
  • High blood pressure (hypertension) is a major risk factor for CHD.
  • The Fifth Joint National Committee (JNC-V) provides guidelines for hypertension management.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To assess JNC-V guideline implementation in families with premature CHD.
  • To determine hypertension prevalence and risk factors in siblings of CHD patients.
  • To compare hypertension control in this high-risk group with national data.

Main Methods:

  • Screened 859 asymptomatic siblings of individuals with premature CHD (<60 years).
  • Assessed prevalence of hypertension and other coronary risk factors.
  • Compared findings with the third National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES III).

Main Results:

  • 44% of siblings had hypertension.
  • Among hypertensive siblings, only 60% were aware, 45% treated, and 16% controlled.
  • High prevalence of hypercholesterolemia (72%), obesity (61%), smoking (29%), high-fat diet (82%), and low physical activity (14%) was observed.

Conclusions:

  • Siblings of premature CHD patients exhibit a high burden of hypertension and multiple risk factors.
  • Hypertension awareness, treatment, and control are suboptimal in this population.
  • Aggressive screening and treatment are needed for this identifiable high-risk group.

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