Knowledge, attitude and practice towards therapeutic lifestyle changes in the management of hypertension in Khartoum State 2016

4^th Global Summit on Heart Diseases

March 15-16, 2019 Singapore

Ahmed Ali Abdalla

The Shrewsbury and Telford Hospital NHS Trust, UK

Scientific Tracks Abstracts: J Cardiovasc Dis Diagn

Abstract :

Introduction & Aim: Hypertension (HTN) has long been recognized as a major risk factor for coronary artery diseases, stroke and kidney disease. Despite a myriad of new pharmacological agents, a significant portion of hypertensive patientsâ?? blood pressure remains uncontrolled in the Sudan, an important, often under-utilized treatment approach is Therapeutic Lifestyle Changes (TLC). This study aimed to assess the knowledge, attitude and practice of patients to therapeutic lifestyle changes in the management of hypertension in Khartoum locality in 2016.

Method: The study was cross-sectional descriptive. Data was collected via structured interviews using a questionnaire, full coverage of patients attending Ahmed Gasim and Alshaab Hospitals for follow up in a certain time period was carried out, this amounted to a sample of 112, descriptive and inferential statistics were utilized for data analysis.

Result: 112 patients were identified for participation in this study, a slight female preponderance (54.5%), older age with 58% in the 55-70 yearsâ?? age group, when assessed for knowledge on lifestyles and habits that affect blood pressure, respondents were most familiar with the fact that salt consumption affects blood pressure, 93.8% answering correctly. After knowledge scores were calculated, only 31.3% of participants had above average knowledge on blood pressure and TLC. The lifestyle change respondents were least adherent to regular exercise with 59.8% of participants admitting to not exercising most days. Participantsâ?? most frequent response to why they arenâ??t implementing a certain change was that they didnâ??t feel it mattered enough, the same answer being most frequent for each lifestyle change.

Conclusion: In conclusion, this study demonstrated that hypertensive patients are generally knowledgeable on hypertension and the importance of therapeutic lifestyle changes in its management, particularly the importance of minimizing salt intake. The researcher believes that novel approaches are needed to help motivate patients diagnosed with hypertension apply their knowledge regarding TLC.

Biography :

Ahmed Ali Abdalla is currently working as a Doctor at The Shrewsbury and Telford Hospital NHS Trust in Shropshire. He has completed his MBBS degree from University of Khartoum.

E-mail: a.ali.gasmelsid@gmail.com