CARDIOVASCULAR JOURNAL OF AFRICA • Vol 24, No 3, April 2013
70
AFRICA
particularly men, to improve their unsatisfactory awareness,
treatment and control of hypertension.
10
Limitations of the study
This study had several limitations. Firstly, the self-report of health
variables such as tobacco or alcohol use should be interpreted
with caution; it is possible that respondents under-reported,
especially females. As in many studies, arterial blood pressure
was measured three times during a single session (two hours),
which may have led to an overestimation of the prevalence of
hypertension. In addition, the awareness and treatment rate
of hypertension was solely assessed by individual self-report.
Furthermore, this study was based on data collected in a cross-
sectional survey. We cannot, therefore, ascribe causality to any of
the associated factors in the study.
Conclusion
This study revealed high rates of hypertension among older
adults (50 years and more) in South Africa, which put them at
risk for cardiovascular disease. The percentages of hypertensives
who were aware of, treated for and controlled were very low.
These data underscore the urgent need to strengthen the public
health education and blood pressure-monitoring systems to
better manage hypertension among older adults in South Africa.
Community healthcare workers in their new role in South
Africa could screen for hypertension among older adults using
a primary care ‘high-risk’ approach once every two years. This
screening process would enable the health system to identify and
cater for the needs of this vulnerable population group.
37
Funding was provided predominantly from the National Department of
Health with additional funding provided by the United States National
Institute on Aging through an interagency agreement with the World Health
Organisation, and the Human Sciences Research Council, South Africa.
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