May Measurement Month (MMM) 2017: an analysis of blood pressure screening results in Bangladesh-South Asia

Elevated blood pressure (BP) is a growing burden worldwide, leading to over 10 million deaths each year. Based on the findings of the non-communicable disease Risk Factors Survey Bangladesh 2010, the prevalence of hypertension in adults 25 years or older in Bangladesh is 20.1%. The Bangladesh Demographic Health Survey, 2011 showed that approximately 50% of those affected are unaware of their hypertensive condition. The May Measurement Month 2017 (MMM17) is a global initiative of the International Society of Hypertension (ISH) aimed at raising awareness of high BP. We participated in MMM17 to raise awareness of hypertension screening and identify those with elevated BP who were unaware, and those on treatment with still uncontrolled hypertension. Following the standard protocol designed by the ISH, we participated in MMM17, an opportunistic cross-sectional survey of volunteers aged ≥18. It was carried out in May 2017. BP measurement, the definition of hypertension and statistical analysis followed the standard MMM protocol. Data were collected from 35 screening sites in 33 districts in Bangladesh. Personnel from several government and non-government organizations volunteered in this huge event. A total of 11 418 individuals were screened during MMM17, of which 5401 (47.3%) were found to have hypertension. Of 8365 individuals not receiving anti-hypertensive medication, 2348 (28.1%) were hypertensive. Of 3053 individuals receiving anti-hypertensive medication, 1594 (52.2%) had uncontrolled BP. MMM17 was the largest BP screening campaign undertaken in Bangladesh. This study suggests that opportunistic screening can identify significant numbers of people with raised BP. A periodic public health programme at a national level needs to be initiated to increase hypertension detection and control rate and thus for the prevention of cardiovascular diseases

May Measurement Month 2018: a pragmatic global screening campaign to raise awareness of blood pressure by the International Society of Hypertension

Aims Raised blood pressure (BP) is the biggest contributor to mortality and disease burden worldwide and fewer than half of those with hypertension are aware of it. May Measurement Month (MMM) is a global campaign set up in 2017, to raise awareness of high BP and as a pragmatic solution to a lack of formal screening worldwide. The 2018 campaign was expanded, aiming to include more participants and countries. Methods and results Eighty-nine countries participated in MMM 2018. Volunteers (≥18 years) were recruited through opportunistic sampling at a variety of screening sites. Each participant had three BP measurements and completed a questionnaire on demographic, lifestyle, and environmental factors. Hypertension was defined as a systolic BP ≥140 mmHg or diastolic BP ≥90 mmHg, or taking antihypertensive medication. In total, 74.9% of screenees provided three BP readings. Multiple imputation using chained equations was used to impute missing readings. 1 504 963 individuals (mean age 45.3 years; 52.4% female) were screened. After multiple imputation, 502 079 (33.4%) individuals had hypertension, of whom 59.5% were aware of their diagnosis and 55.3% were taking antihypertensive medication. Of those on medication, 60.0% were controlled and of all hypertensives, 33.2% were controlled. We detected 224 285 individuals with untreated hypertension and 111 214 individuals with inadequately treated (systolic BP ≥ 140 mmHg or diastolic BP ≥ 90 mmHg) hypertension. Conclusion May Measurement Month expanded significantly compared with 2017, including more participants in more countries. The campaign identified over 335 000 adults with untreated or inadequately treated hypertension. In the absence of systematic screening programmes, MMM was effective at raising awareness at least among these individuals at risk

May measurement month 2018: an analysis of blood pressure screening results from Bangladesh.

Elevated blood pressure (BP) is a growing burden worldwide, leading to over 10 million deaths each year. According to Non-communicable disease (NCD) Risk Factors Survey Bangladesh 2010, one-fifth (21.9%) of adults aged 25 years or more have hypertension. Almost one-third of the adult population did not have their BP measured in their lifetime in Bangladesh. National Heart Foundation of Bangladesh participated in May Measurement Month (MMM) 2018 as a part of a global initiative aimed at raising awareness of high BP and to act as a temporary solution to the lack of screening programmes nationally. An opportunistic cross-sectional survey of volunteers aged ≥18 years was carried out in May 2018. Blood pressure measurement, the definition of hypertension and statistical analysis followed the MMM protocol. Data were collected from 10 screening sites in 9 districts in Bangladesh. A total of 5208 individuals were screened during MMM18. After multiple imputation, 1750 (33.6%) had hypertension. Among the 1750 participants with hypertension, 1312 (75.0%) were aware of having hypertension. Among those that were not on antihypertensive medication, 15.2% were hypertensive and among those that were on antihypertensive medication 33.6% had uncontrolled hypertension. The present study showed that opportunistic screening can identify significant numbers of people with raised BP. A periodic public health programme at a national level needs to be initiated to increase hypertension detection and control rates and thus for prevention of cardiovascular diseases

May Measurement Month 2019: an analysis of blood pressure screening results from Bangladesh

According to the Non-communicable disease Risk Factors Survey of 2018, more than one-fifth (21.0%) of adults aged 25 years or older have hypertension and one-third of the adults did not have their blood pressure (BP) measured in their lifetime in Bangladesh. The National Heart Foundation of Bangladesh participated in May Measurement Month (MMM) 2017 and 2018 as well as this 2019 as a part of a global initiative aimed at raising awareness of high BP and to act as a temporary solution to the lack of screening programmes worldwide. This opportunistic screening of voluntary participants aged ≥18 years was carried out from May to July 2019. Data were collected from 100 screening sites in 16 districts in Bangladesh. BP measurement, the definition of hypertension, and statistical analysis followed the MMM protocol. Data on 24 941 individuals were analysed. Among the participants, 12 658 (50.8%) were female. After multiple imputation, 6990 (28.0%) had hypertension. Among the 6990 participants with hypertension, 5007 (71.6%) were on antihypertensive medication and 5331 (76.3%) were aware of having hypertension. Among 6990 participants with hypertension, 3217 (46.0%) had controlled BP (<140/90 mmHg) and among the participants with hypertension and on antihypertensive medication, 64.2% had controlled BP. Opportunistic BP screening can identify significant numbers of people with raised BP and thus assist in the prevention of cardiovascular diseases