High blood pressure and low awareness on the preoperative evaluation

The most important risk factor for morbidity and mortality among patients with cardiovascular diseases undergoing
surgery under anesthesia is hypertension (HT). Objective: This study aimed to investigate the prevalence and awareness
of HT during preoperative evaluation. It was a descriptive and cross-sectional study. A total of 392 patients aged more
than 30 years were included in the preoperative evaluation of the study. Results: The blood pressure levels of the patients
were 8.1% optimum, 10.1% normal, 14.9% higher normal, 15.4% Stage 1 HT, 15.9% Stage 2 HT, 15.9% Stage 3 HT, and
18.7% isolated systolic HT. It was found that 63.6% of the 261 patients with high blood pressure were not diagnosed with
HT and did not use any antihypertensive drugs. Hence, it was accepted that these patients were not aware of HT. Further,
it was found that 42% of the patients were diagnosed with HT and received antihypertensive treatment. It was assumed
that these patients were aware of HT.
Conclusions: Optimal clinical evaluation in the preoperative period in patients requiring surgical intervention may
contribute to the reduction of perioperative morbidity through early diagnosis and treatment of HT and end-organ damage.