Public’s Knowledge, Attitudes and Practices Related to Hypertension

Aim: The present study aimed to describe the public’s knowledge and beliefs on hypertension and its treatment in Saudi Arabia. Methodology: This cross-sectional study included a survey was used to collect demographic data of the respondents and the response to the main questions of the survey that were close-ended questions. Results: Most of the respondents agreed that aging (81.17), family history (74.06%), smoking (69.46%), eating fatty foods (80.33), and overweight (83.26%) are risk factors of developing hypertension. Additionally, more than 90% agreed that regular physical exercise reduces hypertension and 89.54% of them agreed that more salt consumption increases blood pressure. Conclusion: The respondents had a good knowledge about hypertension and how to prevent it. But still more health education about hypertension prevention and blood pressure control was needed.


INTRODUCTION
Blood pressure is determined both by the amount of resistance to blood flow in the arteries and the amount of blood the heart pumps [1]. Narrowing of the arteries and increasing the amount of blood the heart pumps increase the blood pressure. A blood pressure reading is given in millimeters of mercury unit (mm Hg) [1].
Hypertension is the most frequent chronic disease in underdeveloped and developed countries. It is usually diagnosed incidentally so it is called the silent killer [1]. More than a quarter of the world's adult population has hypertension, and the rate is expected to increase to about 30% by 2025 if the response is not effective [2]. Several studies informed that hypertension is a common problem globally with estimates as much as one billion patients, and cause of more than 7 million of global preventable premature deaths [3][4][5][6].
The excessive pressure on the arterial walls caused by high blood pressure can damage the blood vessels as well as your organs [1]. Uncontrolled high blood pressure can lead to numerous complications including heart attack, stroke, aneurysm, heart failure, weakened and narrowed blood vessels in the kidneys, thickened, narrowed or torn blood vessels in the eyes, metabolic syndrome, trouble with memory or understanding, and dementia [1].
It is important to have a good knowledge about hypertension in order to prevent the occurrence of hypertension and to control the blood pressure in hypertensive patients. Increasing the knowledge and awareness of the public and changing their attitude and practice play a significant role in controlling this disease [2]. The present study aimed to describe the public's knowledge and beliefs on hypertension and its treatment in Saudi Arabia.

METHODOLOGY
This was a cross-sectional study that was conducted to describe the public's knowledge and beliefs on hypertension and its treatment in Saudi Arabia.
The survey was used to collect demographic data of the respondents and the response of these respondents to the main questions of the survey that were close-ended questions and that were related to public's Knowledge and beliefs on hypertension and its treatment.
The online survey results were collected in Excel sheet and they were shown as percentages and numbers. The percentages are calculated by dividing each value by the total value, and after that the result was multiplied by 100%.

RESULTS and DISCUSSION
The survey was completed by 239 respondents. More than half of them were males (51.05%) and the age of more than half of them was less than 30 years. The majority of the respondents were nonsmokers (70.71%) and the reported level of exercise was high in only 9.62% of them. The demographic data of the respondents are shown in Table 1. Generally, the respondents had a good knowledge about hypertension and how to prevent it nonetheless more awareness is needed. The respondents lacked in the knowledge of hypertension treatment and blood pressure control. This is rational because the study included the general population either who had hypertension or no.
Sadeq and Lafta reported that among hypertensive patients attending hospitals in Baghdad, more than 60% had a good knowledge about hypertension [7]. Gong

CONCLUSION
The respondents had a good knowledge about hypertension and how to prevent it. However, more health education about hypertension prevention and blood pressure control is needed to reduce the risk for hypertension among the population and to control blood pressure among hypertensive patients.

CONSENT
As per international standard or university standard, respondents' written consent has been collected and preserved by the author(s).

ETHICAL APPROVAL
It is not applicable.
13. Chimberengwa PT, Naidoo M, cooperative inquiry group. Knowledge, attitudes and practices related to hypertension among residents of a disadvantaged rural community in southern Zimbabwe. PLoS One. 2019;14(6):e0215500.