Abstract
Background: High blood pressure is one of the four values used for monitoring a patient’s health condition. However, there are no reports on this parameter in relation to populations at different geographical altitudes. This study’s main objective was to determine the mean values of blood pressure according to patient characteristics and geographic altitude of residence in Peru. Methods: This was a multicenter, cross-sectional study, taken by convenience sampling. Patients lived for more than six months in cities with altitudes ranging from sea level to 5100 meters above mean sea level (mamsl). Data was categorized using 2000-m ranges and obtained from normotensive patients with hypertension (HTN) with and without treatment. P values were obtained using a multivariate analysis using Stata (Stata Corp, Texas, USA).Results: Of the 5,236 participants, 3,305(63%) were women, and the median age was 42 years. The median systolic/diastolic blood pressures (mmHg) were 110/70, 115.5/75, and 103/63, for 0-2000 mamsl, 2001-4000 mamsl, and 4001-5100 mamsl, respectively (p < 0.001). When data was adjusted according to patient characteristics, most of the differences in values were statistically significant for treated hypertensive (systolic p < 0.001; diastolic p = 0.243) and normotensive (systolic and diastolic p < 0.001), compared to untreated hypertensive patients. Conclusion: The blood pressure values varied with the altitude of residence and type of patient. Furthermore, these parameters should be taken into account as reference values by physicians working at different geographical altitudes for management of their patients.
