May Measurement Month 2021: an analysis of blood pressure screening results from Australia.

May Measurement Month (MMM) is a global and national blood pressure (BP) screening campaign initiated by the International Society of Hypertension to improve awareness of BP worldwide. This study reports on the findings of the MMM21 campaign in Australia. Adult participants (≥18 years) were screened through opportunistic sampling across Australia between 1 May and 30 November 2021. Trained volunteers recorded standardized BP measurements from community volunteer participants along with demographic data, lifestyle factors, comorbidities, and history of COVID-19 infection and vaccination. Hypertension was defined as systolic BP ≥ 140 mmHg and/or diastolic BP ≥ 90 mmHg and/or taking antihypertensive medication. Data were collated and analysed centrally using the current MMM protocol and presented after the imputation of missing BP readings. A total of 1307 participants were screened in 2021, comprising 652 (49.9%) females and 654 (50.0%) males with a mean age of 48 years (SD 20.1). Of all 1307 participants, 524 (40.1%) had hypertension. Of participants with hypertension, 65.4% were aware and 59.3% were on antihypertensive medication. Of 311 participants on antihypertensive medication, 54.7% had controlled BP. Of all 524 participants with hypertension, 32.5% had controlled BP. The current 2021 data may indicate some progress in creating BP awareness; however, consecutive Australian data obtained since 2017 demonstrated stagnating treatment, and control rates compared with global rates and those in other high-income countries. Concerted efforts from all stakeholders will be required to further improve BP awareness, treatment, and control rates in Australia.

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

May Measurement Month (MMM) is an annual global blood pressure (BP) screening campaign aimed at obtaining standardized BP measurements and other relevant health information from members of the community to increase awareness of elevated BP and the associated risks. Adults (≥18 years) were recruited through opportunistic sampling across the various Australian states during May 2019. Three BP readings were recorded in a standardized manner for each participant, and data on lifestyle factors and comorbidities were collected. Hypertension was defined as a systolic BP ≥140 mmHg, or a diastolic BP ≥90 mmHg (according to the MMM protocol) or taking antihypertensive medication. Multiple imputation was used to estimate participants' mean BP where three readings were not available. Of the 2877 participants, 901 (31.3%) had hypertension of whom 455 (50.5%) were aware of their condition, and 366 (40.6%) were on antihypertensive medication. Of those taking antihypertensive medication, 54.3% were controlled to <140/90 mmHg with the remaining 45.7% of participants inadequately treated. Approximately 74% of treated patients were on a single antihypertensive medication. The MMM campaign provides an important platform for standardized compilation of BP data and creation of BP awareness in Australia and other nations worldwide. Data from the 2019 MMM campaign highlight that BP control rates in Australia remain unacceptably low.

May Measurement Month 2018: an analysis of blood pressure screening results from Australia.

May Measurement Month (MMM), originally initiated as a temporary solution to address the lack of blood pressure (BP) screening programs worldwide, emerged as an effective annual campaign to increase the awareness of hypertension. MMM18, a cross-sectional survey of volunteers aged ≥18 years was carried out during May 2018 predominantly in capital cities across Australia following the standard MMM protocol. Blood pressure screening along with additional information including anthropometric data and responses to questionnaires on demographic, lifestyle, and environmental factors were collected from 3 352 individuals across Australia. After multiple imputation, 1 026 (30.6%) adult Australians had hypertension. Of the 2 936 individuals not on antihypertensive treatment, 610 (20.8%) were hypertensive, and 237 (57.1%) of the 416 individuals receiving antihypertensive treatment had uncontrolled BP. In line with MMM17 results and other previous surveys, MMM18 revealed that close to one-third of the screened population (30.6%) had hypertension, 57.1% of individuals treated with BP-lowering medication remained uncontrolled indicating suboptimal management of the condition in the majority of patients. Most importantly, only 49.0% of those with hypertension were aware of their elevated BP, highlighting lack of awareness of elevated BP in nearly half of the affected population. Elevated BP was directly associated with alcohol consumption, overweight, and obesity. Our findings demonstrate the need for (i) continued efforts to increase BP awareness in the population, (ii) optimization of BP management strategies, and (iii) tackling some of the major contributors to BP elevation, including alcohol consumption and obesity.

May Measurement Month 2017: an analysis of blood pressure screening results from Australia-South-East Asia and Australasia.

Increased blood pressure (BP) is the single biggest contributing risk factor to the global disease burden. May Measurement Month (MMM) is a global initiative of the International Society of Hypertension aimed at raising awareness of high BP. In Australia, hypertension affects around six million adults and continues to remain the greatest attributable cause of cardiovascular mortality and morbidity (48.3%), stroke deaths (28%), and kidney disease (14%). An opportunistic cross-sectional survey was carried out during May 2017 predominantly in capital cities across Australia which included adult volunteers. Blood pressure measurement, the definition of hypertension and statistical analysis followed the standard MMM protocol. Additional information obtained included anthropometric data and responses to questionnaires on demographic, lifestyle, and environmental factors. Data were collected from 3817 individuals. After multiple imputation, of the 3758 individuals for whom a mean of the second and third BP reading was available, 1188 (31.2%) had hypertension. Of 3213 individuals not receiving antihypertensive treatment, 591 (18.4%) were hypertensive, and 239 (40.1%) of the 596 individuals receiving treatment had uncontrolled BP. Adjusted BP was higher in association with antihypertensive medication, cerebrovascular disease, smoking, and alcohol consumption. Blood pressure was higher when measured on the right arm and on Tuesdays. MMM17 was one of the largest BP screening campaigns undertaken in Australia using standardized BP measurements. In line with previous surveys, around one-third of screened adults had hypertension and approximately 40% of treated individuals remained uncontrolled. These results suggest that opportunistic screening can identify significant numbers with raised BP.

Stagnating rates of blood pressure control in Australia: insights from opportunistic screening of 10 046 participants of the May Measurement Month campaigns.

BACKGROUND: Raised blood pressure (BP) remains the single most important modifiable risk factor contributing to cardiovascular and all-cause mortality in Australia and worldwide. May Measurement Month , a global BP measurement and screening campaign initiated by the International Society of Hypertension and carried out in Australia since its inception in 2017, aimed at obtaining standardized BP measurements from members of the community to increase awareness of high BP and its associated risks. METHOD: Adults participants (≥18 years) were recruited through opportunistic sampling across Australia during the month of May in 2017, 2018 and 2019. Trained volunteers recorded BP readings in a standardized manner and collected data on demographic, lifestyle factors and comorbidities. Hypertension was defined as SBP of at least 140 mmHg, or DBP of at least 90 mmHg, or taking antihypertensive medication. Data were collated centrally and analysis was carried out using regression models to evaluate the associations between BP and participant characteristics. RESULTS: A total of 10 046 participants were screened, of whom 3097 (31.0%) had hypertension, only 48.5% were aware of their condition and 44.4% were taking antihypertensive medication. Of those taking antihypertensive medication, 53.2% were controlled to less than 140/90 mmHg, whereas the remaining 46.8% of participants had BP of at least 140/90 mmHg suggestive of inadequately treated hypertension. CONCLUSION: Consecutive data obtained over a 3-year period in Australia demonstrated stagnating awareness, treatment and control rates with the latter two being substantially lower than global rates and those in other high-income countries. Concerted efforts from all stakeholders will be required to help overcome the unacceptably poor rates of BP treatment and control in Australia.