Hypertension treatment and control in a rural cohort in Thiruvallur, Tamil Nadu, India.

Hypertension is a public health problem with low detection and treatment rates in India. We resurveyed 1284 patients with hypertension already identified in baseline survey of the cohort in Thiruvallur district, Tamil Nadu, India. The objective was to estimate the proportion of patients with drug treatment, hypertension control and lifestyle modification at follow-up (median follow-up 27 months). Overall, only 19.9% of the patients took drugs and 45.3% had blood pressure under control. Among 256 patients on drugs, 179 (69.9%) were on a single drug, 71 (27.7%) on two drugs, and six (2.3%) on three drugs. Commonly prescribed drugs based on the prescription review were beta blockers (50.4%), calcium channel blockers (36.7%), angiotensin-converting-enzyme inhibitor (18.4%), and diuretics (11.7%). Salt reduction was reported by 49.7% of the patients. There is a need for strengthening the health systems for effective management of hypertension and patient education to ensure active involvement in the long-term care.