A Study on Prevalence of Hypertension Among Patients Attending OPD of National Institute of Unani Medicine, Bengaluru, India.

Introduction: Hypertension is the leading modifiable cause of premature death and hence World Health Organization (WHO) has made it one of its global prevention priorities. It is a major risk factor for stroke, myocardial infarction, vascular disease, and chronic kidney disease. The prevention and treatment of hypertension imposes a significant public health challenge owing to its related morbidity and mortality as well as the expense to society. Hypertension is referred to as a silent and an invisible killer and affects at least 1.4 billion people globally. Less than half of adults (42%) with hypertension are diagnosed and treated. Methodology The research design was an institution based single centered, observational descriptive study, cross sectional in design and was carried out for a duration of 28 days (4 weeks) from 01.06.2024 to 29.06.2024. The study was conducted in the Outpatient Department (OPD) of Regimenal therapies, National Institute of Unani Medicine (NIUM), Bengaluru. All people above 21 years of age attending OPD constituted study population. In present study, 524 patients were included in the study. The diagnosis of hypertension was done as per WHO guidelines. Data analysis was done using SPSS version 24. Results: The study revealed that prevalence of hypertension was 35.87% in the study population. In the present study, 53.20% of diagnosed hypertensive patients were females and rest 46.80% were males. Majority of diagnosed hypertensive patients (39.89%) belonged to the age group of above 60 years. Conclusion: Prevalence of hypertension is significantly increasing at a greater pace globally as well as in India. Periodic screening and raising awareness about hypertension in general population is necessary to reduce the prevalence of the disease and thereby the associated morbidity and mortality. Keywords: Hypertension, WHO, Prevalence, SPSS, OPD patients.