Prevalence of Hypertension in Medical Professionals of Tertiary Care Centre and Assessing their Awareness about Hypertension and Lifestyle Measures to Curb It

Introduction: Hypertension, or raised blood pressure, is a major public health problem in India. Medical professionals are highly susceptible to hypertension. We studied to estimate the prevalence of hypertension among medical professionals, to assess their knowledge about hypertension and to assess awareness about lifestyle measures. Materials and Methods: It was a cross-sectional study done among medical professionals at American international institute of medical sciences, Udaipur. A total of 220 subjects, aged 23 to 60 years, 145 males and 75 females, were included. Results: 93.3% consider their blood pressure to be controlled. 45.4% (100/220) of professionals were normotensive, 43.2% (95/220) had stage 1 hypertension, and 11.3% (25/220) had stage 2 hypertension. 70% (55/78) in the obese category, 56% (29/52) in the overweight category, and 41.8% (38/90) in the normal BMI group were hypertensive. Most people are aware of hypertension and the lifestyle measures that affect blood pressure. Conclusions: A high prevalence of hypertension was found among medical professionals. BMI, a modifiable risk factor, can be addressed to reduce the magnitude of hypertension in this study group.