May Measurement Month 2017: an analysis of the blood pressure screening campaign results in India—South Asia

Abstract

Elevated blood pressure (BP) is a growing burden worldwide, leading to over 10 million deaths each year. May Measurement Month (MMM) is a global initiative aimed at raising awareness of high BP and to act as a temporary solution to the lack of screening programmes worldwide. A recently conducted study on 1.3 million adults in India showed the prevalence of hypertension to be 25.3%. Raised BP is responsible for 8.5% of the total Disability Adjusted Life Years and is also an important contributor to cardiovascular disease which is the leading cause of deaths in the country. An opportunistic cross-sectional survey of volunteers aged ≥18 was carried out in May 2017. Blood pressure measurement, the definition of hypertension and statistical analysis followed the standard MMM protocol. The study was conducted in over 500 screening sites across the country and involved over 5000 volunteers. Screening sites included health facilities such as hospitals and clinics, as well as a variety of public spaces. A total of 240 376 individuals were screened during MMM17. Out of the 122 685 screenees for whom all three BP readings were available, 38 974 (31.8%) had hypertension based on the mean of second and third reading. Of individuals not receiving antihypertensive medication, 21 679 (17.7%) were hypertensive. Of individuals receiving antihypertensive medication, 14 203 (82.6%) had uncontrolled BP. MMM17 was the largest collaborative BP screening campaign undertaken in India with involvement of the public as well as the private sector. Over two-thirds of the individuals on antihypertensive treatment had uncontrolled BP. Approximately one-fifth of the participants had raised BP and were not on antihypertensive treatment prior to the study. These results suggest that opportunistic screening can identify significant numbers with raised BP.

May Measurement Month 2018: an analysis of blood pressure screening campaign results in India

“…A sizeable proportion of hypertensives were identified in this 2nd consecutive MMM campaign with very little change from 31.8% in MMM17 to 32.3% in MMM18. 7 Although only 2.5% of the participants were common in MMM17 and MMM18, many of the trends remained similar in MMM18. For example, trends of HTN with weight gain were similar to the previous year.…”

“…Among 17 205 participants who were receiving treatment for HTN, 82.6% were uncontrolled. 7 Inspired by the results of MMM17, we participated again in MMM 2018 (MMM18), with an objective to raise awareness about BP among the Indian population.…”

An overview of hypertension and cardiac involvement in Asia: Focus on heart failure

“…Hypertension has also been reported as the leading CV risk factor in Indonesia, explaining 20%‐25% of all coronary artery disease (CAD) and 36%‐42% of all strokes . Interestingly, the awareness, proportion of those with well controlled BP, and hypertension‐mediated organ damage (HMOD) also vary among countries in Asia, as reported in global BP screening campaign initiative of International Society of Hypertension in Asian countries …”

World Hypertension Day

“…The 1.2 million individuals screened through the global campaign in 2017, included 190,955 individuals in India12. The Indian campaign was conducted in over 500 screening sites with the help of over 5000 volunteers13. Among the participants from India that were included in the final analysis, 31.8 per cent were found to have raised BP13.…”

“…The Indian campaign was conducted in over 500 screening sites with the help of over 5000 volunteers13. Among the participants from India that were included in the final analysis, 31.8 per cent were found to have raised BP13. Only 44 per cent of the individuals with hypertension were aware of their status prior to the screening initiative13.…”