A community-based hypertension register as a part of a systematic hypertension control project: Experiences from the North Karelia project

Abstract

A community control program for hypertension was instituted during 1972 and 1977 as a major subprogram of the North Karelia project. The aim was to reduce the high blood pressure levels prevalent among the whole population of the county of North Karelia. A community-based hypertension register, established according to the recommendations of the WHO, served as a central information system and ensured the continuous follow-up of the hypertensive patients. During the period May 1972-April 1977, 17,014 hypertensive subjects were registered (9.7% of the total population). The registered subjects were followed-up annually. The build-up of the registration system took 2-3 yr, the system was feasible, the percentage of non-participants during the follow-up was between 14 and 16% and the amount of missing data was insignificant.