Prevalence of Uncontrolled Hypertension in Primary Care Settings in Al Seeb Wilayat, Oman

Objectives:this study aimed to estimate the prevalence of uncontrolled hypertension (htn) among omani hypertensive patients, on treatment and under primary health care (phc) follow-up in al seeb wilayat, oman. socio-demographic and clinical factors were explored for possible influence on blood pressure (bp) control.methods:based on an assumption of 50% prevalence of uncontrolled htn, a retrospective data collection was conducted on the last three follow-up visits of 411 randomly selected omani adults (≥18 years) from 3,459 hypertensive patients. adequate bp control was defined using criteria from 7th report of the joint national committee on prevention detection evaluation & treatment of high blood pressure (jnc-7). a p value of <0.05 and odds ratios with 95% confidence interval were used to assess for association.results:the targets for adequate bp control were achieved in 39% of the studied patients (95% confidence interval [ci]: 34–44%). lower bp control was found among hypertensives with diabetes (6.4%, p = <0.001) and renal disease (18.5%, p = 0.02); those with cardiovascular disease (cvd) showed relatively better control (58%). age and gender had no impact on bp control. most patients were only on one (24%) or two (47%) antihypertensive medications, the most frequently used being β-blockers (58.2%) and diuretics (56.3%).conclusion:htn is not adequately controlled in over 60% of treated patients; the presence of co-morbidity and less than aggressive treatment are significant contributors. improving the quality of htn care is a priority; effective efforts should be undertaken to improve bp control