Risk Factors for Hypertension in Patients with Stroke Presenting to Tertiary Care Hospital

OBJECTIVES To determine the frequency of hypertension in stroke patients presenting to the tertiary care hospital of Peshawar, Pakistan. METHODOLOGY This cross-sectional descriptive study was conducted in the Department of Medicine at Khyber Teaching Hospital, Peshawar. This study spanned months and included 225 patients of either gender who had stroke symptoms within the preceding 72 hours. Detailed information was documented in age (in years), residence, gender, educational qualification, family history of hypertension, smoking, diabetes mellitus, obesity, dyslipidemia, hypertension, and duration. SPSS version 26.0 was used.RESULTSThis study’s age ranged from 41 to 80 years, with a mean age of 61.0046.69. The mean duration of hypertension was 3.052±0.85 years. Hypertension was seen in 42.2% of patients. Factors leading to hypertension in stroke patients were age 40.8%, urban area 42%, illiteracy 36.2%, positive family history 61.9%, diabetes mellitus 65.2%, smoking 33.3%, obesity 85.3%, and dyslipidemia 71.8%. CONCLUSION Significant risk factors for stroke include hypertension, diabetes mellitus, hypercholesterolemia, smoking, obesity, and positive family history.