1.1 Background to the Study
Hypertension, defined as a systolic
blood pressure in excess of 140mmHg or a diastolic pressure higher than
90mmHg, is also a globally increasing public health concern. Roughly 1
billion individuals worldwide are estimated to exhibit clinically
significant elevated blood pressure with about 50million of those
residing in the United States. Hypertension, in turn is associated with
increased risk for CVD, Stroke, renal disease and all cause mortality.
The JNC VII report defines stage 1 hypertension as blood pressure levels
between. 140 and 159mmHg systolic and 90 and 99 diastolic.
Additionally, the report establishes a category of prehypertension
(Systolic blood pressure between 120 and 140mmHg or diastolic between 80
and 89mmHg). These two blood pressure classification are deemed to be
appropriate primary targets for lifestyle modification interventions,
including weight loss. Higher levels of blood pressure or stage 1
hypertension that is maintained over a long period, should be addressed
primarily with medications or other physician directed treatments.
There is a positive relationship between
overweight or obesity and blood pressure and risk for hypertension. As
early as the 1920s, a significant association between body weight and
blood pressure was noted in men (Symonds, 1923; Dublin, 1925). In the
intervening years, epidemiological studies have routinely confirmed this
association. The Framingham study found that hypertension is about
twice as prevalent in the obese as the non obese of both sexes (Hubert
et al., 1983). Stammer and colleagues (1978) noted an odds ratio for
hypertension of obese relative ti non obese (BMI of less than 25) of
2.43 for younger adults and 1/54 for older ones. The Nurses Health study
(Manson et al., 1995) compared women with BMIs of less than 22 with
those above 29 and found a 2- to 6- fold greater prevalence of
hypertension among the obese.
More recent data from the Framingham
study further support this relationship. Divided into BMI quintiles.
Framingham participants of both sexes demonstrated increasing blood
pressure with increased over weight. In this instance those in the
highest BMI quintile exhibited 16mmHg higher systolic a.d 9mmHg higher
diastolic blood pressures than those in the lowest quintile. For
systolic blood pressure this translated into an increase of 4mmHg for
each 4.5kg of increased weight (Higgins et al., 1998) noted a 5-fold
greater incidence of hypertension in individuals with BMIs of more than
30 relative to those less than 20 for both sexes.
1.2 Problem Statement
The public health burden of hypertension
is certainly enormous. Although perhaps impossible to tease out because
of association with other risk factors, including overweight,
hypertension is clearly a major contributor to most categories of
chronic disease (Havas et al., 2004). Hence there us need to evaluate
the relationship between weight and blood pressure of patients with high
blood pressure.
1.3 Objectives of the Study
The major objective of the study is the relationship between weight and blood pressure of patients with high blood pressure.
1.4 Research Questions
(1) what is High blood Pressure?
(2) what are the factors contributing to high blood pressure?
(3) what is prevalence of high blood pressure in the population?
(4) what is the relationship between high blood Pressure and body weight?
1.5 Significance of the study
The research gives a clear insight into
the relationship between weight and blood pressure of patients with high
blood pressure. The findings of this research will help the concerned
health sector in validating the effect of body weight on blood pressure.
1.6 Scope of the study
The research focuses on the relationship between weight a d blood pressure of patients with high blood pressure.
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