Saturday, July 12, 2003

This presentation is part of : High Risk Adult

High Prevalence of Uncontrolled Hypertension and Cardiovascular Risk Factors

Hae-Ra Han, RN, PhD, Faculty1, Miyong T. Kim, RN, PhD, associate professor1, Hyun Jeong Park, MPH, Graduate Student2, Gina M. Pistulka, RN, MSN/MPH, PreDoctoral Fellow3, and Kim. B Kim, PhD, Executive Director4. (1) School of Nursing, The Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, MD, USA, (2) Center for Nursing Research, The Johns Hopkins University School of Nursing, Baltimore, MD, USA, (3) Center for Nursing Research, School of Nursing, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, MD, USA, (4) Korean Resource Center, Baltimore, MD, USA
Learning Objective #1: List the prevalence of uncontrolled hypertension among hypertensive Korean-American elderly as compared to national statistics
Learning Objective #2: Identify cardiovascular risk factors that are prevalent among Korean-American elderly with hypertension

Objective: To describe the prevalence of uncontrolled hypertension (HTN) and other cardiovascular disease (CVD) risk factors in Korean American elderly (KAE) with HTN.

Design: Cross-sectional, descriptive.

Population, Sample, Setting, Years: Data on 146 hypertensive KAE ages 60 years or older were obtained from a larger sample (N=205) of an assessment study of CVD risk factors. The subsample was predominantly first-generation immigrants (99%) who could speak English little or none (97%). The majority were women (60%) with low education (< high school 59%) and low income (< $10,000/yr 61%). Data were collected between May and July in 1999 at the Johns Hopkins Medical Institutions. Variables: HTN, CVD risk factors Methods: Inclusion criteria were the average of the last 2 of 3 BP measurements „d 140/90 mm Hg or current use of antihypertensive medication. Using face-to-face interviews, bilingual research assistants collected data.

Findings: While only 34% reported taking antihypertensive medication as compared to 53% in the 1991 to 1994 National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES III), only 8% had controlled HTN (BP < 140/90 mm Hg), a value which falls far short of 27% for the NHANES III. The prevalence rates of CVD risk factors in the KAE sample were: current smoking 8%, being overweight or obese (BMI „d 25 Kg/m2) 44%, not doing regular exercise (< mild to rigorous exercise 30 min/wk in the previous month) 74%, diabetes (serum glucose „d 126 mg/dL) 19%, total cholesterol (TC) „d 200 mg/dL 58%, HDL-C < 35 mg/dL 16%, and TC/HDL > 5 42%.

Conclusion: Uncontrolled HTN and the clustering of CVD risk factors are highly prevalent in this group of KAE with HTN.

Implication: There is an urgent need for culturally appropriate intervention programs designed to effectively modify CVD risk factors in this high risk, vulnerable population.

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Sigma Theta Tau International
10-12 July 2003