Hypertension in Internal Medicine

Introduction: Hypertension is a major cause of disability and the leading risk factor for death worldwide. Objective: To study arterial hypertension in the internal medicine department of the CHU du Point G. Methodology: We carried out a cross-sectional, descriptive and analytical study with retrospective 5-year recruitment from January 01, 2018 to December 31, 2022 in the internal medicine department of the CHU du Point G. Inpatient records were reviewed. Inpatients with de novo and old-onset hypertension were included during hospital follow-up. Results: During the course of the study, 1632 patients were hospitalized, 321 of whom were hypertensive and included in the study, representing a hospitalization rate of 19.67%. The age range [60 - 70] represented 33.6%, with extremes of 18 and 92 years and a mean age of 61.43 ± 12.52 years. The sex ratio was 0.69. They had a history of hypertension in 96.9% of cases, followed by diabetes in 29.3%. Risk factors associated with hypertension were dominated by age (58.9%), diabetes (51.7%) and sedentary lifestyle (49.8%). Complications of hypertension were stroke 14.6%, obliterative arteriopathy of the lower limbs 12.8%; hypertensive heart disease 9.9%; coronary syndrome 4.7%; hypertensive retinopathy stage I and II 3%; and chronic renal failure 4.9%. High cardiovascular risk in 67%. Patients on dual antihypertensive therapy were better controlled than those on monotherapy, with no statistically significant difference (p = 0.39). Conclusion: Hypertension is very often associated with other cardiovascular risk factors, including age and diabetes. It can have formidable complications if not properly controlled.