Assessment of Health Related Quality of Life among Hypertensive Patients Attending Outpatient Clinics at Ain Shams University Hospital

Abstract

ypertension is a condition with a tremendous economic and public health impact which contributes to disability, health-care costs and mortality. It is the first leading global risk for mortality, as it is responsible for 13% of global deaths. Its global prevalence in adults aged 18 years and over was around 22% in 2014. The Seventh Report of the Joint National Committee on Prevention, Detection, Evaluation and Treatment of High Blood Pressure (JNC-7) defined hypertension as SBP ≥ 140 mm Hg and/or DBP ≥90 mm Hg. A SBP of 120–139mmHg or a DBP of 80–89 mmHg is defined as prehypertension. Hypertension is one of the chronic diseases that affect the HRQOL of patients suffering from it. As advances in medical science and technology and new and more aggressive treatments succeeded in increasing number and survival rates of people living with chronic diseases and disabilities, attention increasingly turned towards the HRQOL of patients rather than longevity alone. HRQOL is emerging as an important indicator to assess the physical psychological and social impact of the disease on affected individuals and to evaluate treatment outcome, and its improvement has become one of the expected ou