Status of end organ damage in newly detected hypertension, hypertension in thyroid disorders and knowledge and awareness of hypertension among physicians and public

• Main Author: Ramachandran, Meenakshi Sundaram
• Format: Dissertation
• Language: English
• Published: De Montfort University 2014
• Subjects: Awareness; end organ damage; EOD; hypertension; hyperthyroid; hypothyroid; LVH; microalbuminuria; retinopathy; thyroid disorders

Hypertension is associated with end organ damage (EOD). Since EOD is a risk factor for cardio- and cerebrovascular complications, it is a major requirement for these to be detected, prevented and treated. A total of 147 consecutive patients with newly-diagnosed essential hypertension and attending the outpatient clinic were included in this study based on a set of inclusion and exclusion criteria (patients with co-morbid illnesses were excluded from the investigation). Among them, 86% (70 male (M) and 56 female (F)) had one or more EODs, an observation which was very close to statistically significance (P=0.054). The presence of one or more EODs in newly-detected hypertension indicates widespread vascular damage which carries the high risk for cardio- and cerebrovascular morbidity and mortality. Although thyroid dysfunctions exert significant effects on blood pressure (BP), published literature available has revealed contradictory data. Objective of our study was to explore the inter-relationships between selected thyroid dysfunctional status (hyper and hypothyroid) and established biomarkers [thyroid stimulating hormone (TSH) and thyroxine (T4)]; and BP components [specifically Systolic BP (SBP), Diastolic BP (DBP), and Mean Arterial Pressure (MAP), and uniquely SBP:DBP ratio]. We followed rigid criteria in order to select adults with hyperthyroidism (n=71) and hypothyroidism (n=300), together with healthy age-matched controls (n =300), and applied a series of statistical analyses on the datasets acquired. We have observed thyroid dysfunctional status is associated with elevated BP, and increasing BP is positively-correlated with elevated serum thyroid biomarkers, hyper and hypothyroid disorders should be recognized and treated early in order to avoid critical hazards presented by high BP. Also, we have studied awareness among public and physicians in managing hypertension. Overall, the levels of knowledge and awareness among both groups are sub-optimal. Hence there is an urgent need for empowerment among both groups to enhance awareness and to bring effective standard of care.