Scraping the Tip of the Iceberg: Prevalence of Undiagnosed Hypertension Among Patients Presenting to the OPD of Public Tertiary Hospitals, Rawalpindi

Background: Hypertension (HTN), the “silent killer,” is an ever-increasing global health concern, affecting a massive 1.28 billion adults worldwide. Alarmingly, over 50% of the hypertensives across the globe are unaware of their elevated blood pressure (BP). This undiagnosed HTN is a cause for concern, especially in developing countries like Pakistan that face constrained health resources. Our study aims to shed light on the prevalence of undiagnosed HTN among patients presenting to the outpatient departments (OPDs) of public tertiary hospitals in Rawalpindi, Pakistan. According to our knowledge, no similar hospital-based study has been conducted in Pakistan before. Methodology: A descriptive, cross-sectional study was conducted in May 2024 on 148 OPD patients of three tertiary hospitals in Rawalpindi, Pakistan. Prevalence of HTN was measured, and its association with different demographic variables of the population was analyzed. Results: Out of the 148 participants of the study, around 30% were diabetic, and 13% were smokers. Undiagnosed HTN and prehypertension (PHTN) were present in 22% and 40% of the patients, respectively. Gender and diabetes status were significantly associated with HTN; females and diabetics had a higher mean blood pressure (MBP). Females had 2.8 times higher chances of having undiagnosed HTN than males. A p-value of <0.05 and a 95% confidence interval (CI) were adopted for all analyses. Conclusion: This study concluded that the 22% prevalence of undiagnosed HTN is alarming, and it should serve as a catalyst for the institution of an adequate BP monitoring set-up in the OPDs of public tertiary hospitals in Rawalpindi, Pakistan.