HYPERTENSION: ARE WE STILL UNDER PRESSURE?

In 1995, a study entitled the International Collaborative Study of Hypertension in Blacks (ICSHIB) was undertaken, using
blood pressure cut-off measurement of 160/95 mmHg. A prevalence of over 21.5% was established for hypertension
in adult Barbadians aged 25 years and above. Out of these, 58% of the patients receiving treatment were controlled¹.
Twenty years later, in 2015, another study called the Health of the Nation Study (HotN), of adult Barbadians aged 25 years and over, but this time as undertaken, notably using a cut-off measurement, this time of 140/90 mmHg, found the
prevalence of hypertension was 42%. Of those who were on treatment, 58% were controlled .²