Awareness, treatment and control of hypertension among the elderly living in their home in Tunisia.

Background: Hypertension is a cardiovascular disorder rapidly emerging as a major public health problem in developing countries. However, the acknowledgement of the prevalence and the significant impact of hypertension in elderly are very important for health policy. The objective of the present investigation was to evaluate the prevalence, awareness and treatment of hypertension among the elderly living in their home in Tunisia at Monastir City.

Renin-angiotensin system polymorphisms in relation to hypertension status and obesity in a Tunisian population.

Essential hypertension (HTA) is the clinical expression of a disordered interaction between the genetic, physiological, and biochemical systems that under usual conditions maintain cardiovascular homeostasis. We studied the effects of the angiotensinogen M235T, angiotensin converting enzyme insertion/deletion (ACE I/D), and angiotensin II receptor 1 (AT1R) A1166C gene polymorphisms on the risk of HTA and to evaluate the relationship between these polymorphisms and obesity. We performed AGT, ACE and AGTR genotyping in 142 hypertensive patients and 191 control subjects using PCR-RFLP methods and PCR, respectively.