ISH NIA PS 03-07 An assessment of the prevalence, detection, treatment and control of hypertension in HIV infected patients receiving care across public HIV care facilities in the Western Cape Province of South Africa

Objective: Non-infectious comorbidities including hypertension are growing concerns among HIV/AIDS infected population, particularly those surviving on antiretroviral treatment worldwide. This study aims at assessing the prevalence, detection, treatment and control of hypertension and contribution, if any, of HIV specific features in a random sample of HIV infected patients receiving care across public health facilities in the Western Cape Province of South Africa. Design and Method: A total of 827 HIV positive patients randomly selected and screened from 17 different HIV/AIDS public facilities in the Western Cape at both primary and secondary level were included for this study between 2014 and 2015. Hypertension was defined as blood pressure (BP) of ≥ 140 mmHg (systolic) and/or of ≥ 90 mmHg (diastolic), or ongoing use of BP lowering medications. Results: In all 174 (22.3%) participants were males and 653 (77.7%) females. Mean systolic BP level was 120.6 mmHg overall, 127.7 mmHg in men and 118.7 mmHg in women (p Conclusions: We found a high prevalence of hypertension among patients receiving routine care for HIV infection across public HIV clinics in this setting. This is coupled with low detection, treatment and control, highlighting the missed opportunities of co-addressing non-infectious co-morbidities in these patients who are in regular contact with the healthcare system.