Results of May Measurement Month 2018 campaign in Venezuela

Cardiovascular diseases, mainly coronary heart disease and stroke, are the main cause of death in Venezuela; hypertension is the primary risk factor. The May Measurement Month (MMM) study is a global initiative aimed at raising awareness of elevated blood pressure (BP). The previous MMM 2017 campaign showed 48.9% of participants had hypertension, higher than previous Venezuelan epidemiological studies. The MMM 2018 campaign included 28 649 participants screened [mean age: 54.2 (SD 15.13) years; female 62.8%] carried out mainly in pharmacies in 61 sites. Physical measurements included height, weight, and BP, taken in sitting position three times. After multiple imputations, 48.4% had hypertension, of which 87.7% were aware of their diagnosis. Of the individuals not receiving antihypertensive medication, 14.0% had hypertension and 33.7% of those receiving treatment had uncontrolled hypertension. Overall, the percentage of hypertensives with controlled hypertension was 54.8%. Body mass index was calculated for the total population, and it was on average 25.2 (SD: 4.65) kg/m(2). Of all, 14.2% was classified as obese and 32.6% as overweight; meanwhile 4.8% as underweight. Diabetes was reported by 9.5%. These results suggest that repeated screening like the MMM campaign can routinely identify hypertension and consequently implement programmes of treatment in Venezuela, also other common risk factors, like obesity or diabetes.