Hypertension awareness, treatment, and control in nepal: results from may measurement month 2020 blood pressure screening

Early diagnosis and treatment of hypertension are critical strategies to minimize preventable deaths and suffering. Nepal has been a part of the global mass blood pressure screening initiative 'May Measurement Month' (MMM) since 2017. Although MMM was not executed globally due to the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020, Nepal has continued its legacy, building on the success of MMM in the past years. We used an opportunistic screening campaign for blood pressure measurement among individuals aged ≥ 18 in Nepal by following standard COVID-19 preventive measures. Of the three measurements, the second and third measurements were used to estimate the mean systolic and diastolic blood pressure (BP). Hypertension was defined as a systolic BP ≥ 140 mmHg and/or diastolic BP ≥ 90 mmHg, or in those who use antihypertensive medication. A total of 11,348 participants, aged between 18 and 90 years, were screened during the month of May and June in 2020, of which 56.7% were female. The mean age of the participants was 45.1 years (SD ± 17.0). The mean systolic and diastolic BP were 126.6 mmHg (SD ± 18.0) and 81.7 mmHg (SD ± 10.5). Hypertension was present in 31.5% of participants. Among the hypertensive participants, only 38% were aware of their elevated blood pressure, and 31.8% reported that they were currently taking antihypertensive medication. Furthermore, only 46.1% of the participants with hypertension had controlled BP. The low rates of awareness, treatment, and control of BP suggest the need to develop locally feasible and sustainable strategies for controlling blood pressure.