ABSTRACT
BACKGROUND: Hypertension is responsible for 8.5 million deaths from stroke, ischemic heart disease and other vascular and kidney diseases. In Algeria, hypertension (HTN) is the most common chronic disease with an estimated prevalence of 23,6%. METHODS: The PACT II study is a national, observational, descriptive, cross-sectional, multicenter and non-interventional study of therapeutic strategy, conducted in Algeria on hypertensive patients treated for at least 3 months, followed by 100 specialists or general practitioners. The primary objective is to describe the hypertension management in Algeria through the distribution of patients treated for HTN through predefined levels of arterial pressure (AP) reached under treatment. RESULTS: 2000 eligible patients were recruited in the study. 63.5% and 36.4% of patients were female and male respectively. The average age was 62.4 years ± 10.7. The most affected age group (65.2%) was between 55 to 75 years old. Most of the patients had an elevated blood pressure (BP) with 49.30 % at level III AP (130 - 139 mmHg of SBP or 80 - 89 mmHg of DBP), with 49.6% for diabetic patients and 48.8% for non-diabetic patients, then followed by 20.35% at the level IV AP (140 - 159 mmHg of SBP or 90 - 99 mmHg of DBP) with 21.4% for diabetic and 18.3% for non-diabetic patients. Also, 47.32% were at AP level III in patients with Renal failure. Regarding the achievement of the BP target, it was 17.4% for the overall population with 18,3% for diabetic's patients and only 12.64% for Renal failure patients. Additionally, the risk of cardiovascular disease (CVD) was at very high level for most patients, corresponding to 38,4 % of the overall study population. At last, PACT II study data were collected on analysis of blood pressure levels in the overall population and in cardiovascular risk (CVR) population groups such as diabetes (65%), sedentary lifestyle (53%), dyslipidemia (50%), obesity (44%), and renal failure (11.3%). CONCLUSION: PACT II has made it possible to update national data relating to hypertension in Algeria. It confirmed the low level of achievement of the BP target, even if the average arterial pressure level obtained was acceptable in 76% patients with a BP level which was lower than 140 mmHg for SBP and less than 90 mmHg for DBP. Many efforts must be made, according to WHO recommendations, to improve the management of hypertensive patients and BP control in Algeria.
