Abstract
Little is known about the general public’s understanding of the role of blood pressure (BP) in contributing to heart disease and stroke. This study aimed to gain a wider understanding of the knowledge and awareness of BP in a selected London population. As part of a stroke awareness campaign, members of the public were offered BP testing and were asked about their knowledge and awareness of BP. Descriptive statistics were employed to explore knowledge and awareness of BP. χ2-test was run to explore the difference between knowledge and awareness of BP, and whether there was a difference in BP readings in normotensive and hypertensive participants. A total of 1019 participants (males 295; mean age 54 years, range 16–92) were recruited with a mean BP of 130/77 mm Hg. Over half (52%) of the total population was unable to correctly estimate an acceptable range of BP, and of that group 28% had a systolic BP (SBP) >140 mm Hg. Of the 31% self-reporting hypertension and on medication, over a quarter (27%) did not know the range for acceptable BP. A third were poorly controlled with a SBP >140 mm Hg. Mean SBP in the hypertensive participants who correctly estimated ‘acceptable BP’ was 3 mm Hg lower (147 mm Hg) than those who guessed incorrectly (150 mm Hg) (P<0.04). There remains a lack of understanding of BP in the general public population with individuals having little knowledge of an acceptable BP range. Hypertensive patients demonstrate a particularly poor understanding of BP. This study suggests that good knowledge of BP influences BP control in a hypertensive population and has important public health implications.
This is a preview of subscription content, access via your institution
Access options
Subscribe to this journal
Receive 12 digital issues and online access to articles
$119.00 per year
only $9.92 per issue
Rent or buy this article
Prices vary by article type
from$1.95
to$39.95
Prices may be subject to local taxes which are calculated during checkout
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Li C, Engstroem G, Hedblad B, Berglund G, Janzon L . Blood pressure control and risk of stroke: a population-based prospective cohort study. Stroke 2005; 36: 725–730.
Samsa G, Cohen S, Goldstein L, Bonito A, Duncan P, Enarson C et al. Knowledge of risk among patients at increased risk of stroke. Stroke 1997; 28: 916–921.
Volpe M, Dedhiya SD . Physicians, patients and public knowledge and perception regarding hypertension and stroke: a review of survey studies. Curr Med Res Opin 2006; 22 (7): 1319–1330.
Oliveria S, Chen R, McCarthy B, Davis C, Hill M . Hypertension knowledge, awareness and attitudes in a hypertensive population. J Gen Intern Med 2005; 20: 219–225.
Balazovjech I, Hnilica P Jr. . Compliance with antihypertensive treatment in consultation rooms for hypertensive patients. J Hum Hypertens 1993; 7: 581–583.
Bosworth HB, Dudley T, Olson MK, Volis CI, Powers B, Goldstein MK et al. Racial differences in blood pressure control: potential explanatory factors. Am J Med 2006; 119 (70): E9–15.
Samal D, Greisenegger S, Auff E, Lang W, Lalouschek W . The relation between knowledge about hypertension and education in hospitalized patients with stroke in Vienna. Stroke 2007; 38: 1304–1308.
Cellentano A, Palmeiri V, Arezzi E, Sabatella M, Guillaro B, Brancati C et al. Cardiovascular secondary prevention: patient’s knowledge of cardiovascular risk factors and their attitude to reduce the risk burden, and the practice of family doctors. The ‘help your heart stay young’ study. Ital Heart J 2004; 5: 767–773.
Campell SM, Reeves D, Kontopantelis E, Sibbald B, Roland M . Effects of pay for performance on the quality of primary care in England. N Engl J Med 2009; 361 (4): 368–378.
Williams B, Poulter MR, Brown MJ, Davis M, McInnes GT, Potter JF et al. British Hypertension Society guidelines for hypertension management 2004 (BHS-IV): summary. BMJ 2004; 328 (7440): 634–640.
Zanchetti A European Society of Hypertension-European Society of Cardiology Guidelines Committee. European Society of Hypertension-European Society of Cardiology guidelines for the management of arterial hypertension. J Hypertens 2003; 21: 1011–1053.
Altunkan S, Oztas K, Altunkan E . Validation of the OMRON 637IT wrist BP measuring device with a position sensor according to the international protocol in adults and obese adults. Blood Press Monit 2006; 11 (2): 79–85.
Wizner B, Gryglewska B, Gasowski J, Kocemba J, Grodzick T . Normal BP values as perceived by normotensive and hypertensive subjects. J Hum Hypertens 2003; 17: 87–91.
McMahon S, Rodgers A . Blood pressure, antihypertensive treatment and stroke risk. J Hypertens 1994; 12 (SUPP 10): S5–S14.
World Health Organization. Cardiovascular diseases. Fact sheet No. 317 http://www.who.int/mediacentre/factsheets/fs317/en/ Accessed on 19 April 2013.
Mancia G . Blood pressures reduction and cardiovascular disease outcomes: past, present and future. Am J Cardiol 2007; 100 (SUPP): 3J–9J.
Egan BM, Lackland DT, Cutler NE . Awareness, knowledge and attitudes of older Americans about high BP. Arch Intern Med 2003; 163: 681–687.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Ethics declarations
Competing interests
JS and MSK have no conflict of interest. PS and PB hold Department of Health Senior Fellowships.
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Slark, J., Khan, M., Bentley, P. et al. Knowledge of blood pressure in a UK general public population. J Hum Hypertens 28, 500–503 (2014). https://doi.org/10.1038/jhh.2013.136
Received:
Revised:
Accepted:
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/jhh.2013.136
Keywords
This article is cited by
-
The effect of integrated health care in patients with hypertension and diabetes: a systematic review and meta-analysis
BMC Health Services Research (2022)