Non-Targeted Self-Measurement of Blood Pressure: Association with Self-Medication, Unscheduled Emergency Visits and Anxiety

Autor: Glessiane de Oliveira Almeida, Felipe J. Aidar, Dihogo Gama de Matos, Paulo Francisco de Almeida-Neto, Enaldo Vieira de Melo, José Augusto Soares Barreto Filho, Marcos Antonio Almeida-Santos, Victor Batista Oliveira, Rebeca Rocha de Almeida, Suelen Maiara dos Santos, Larissa Monteiro Costa Pereira, Juliana Santos Barbosa, Antônio Carlos Sobral Sousa
Jazyk: angličtina
Rok vydání: 2021
Předmět:
Zdroj: Medicina, Vol 57, Iss 1, p 75 (2021)
Druh dokumentu: article
ISSN: 1648-9144
1010-660X
DOI: 10.3390/medicina57010075
Popis: Background and Objective: The routine practice of self-medication of blood pressure (BP) not oriented with pulse devices may not be precisely useful in the control of BP and can lead the patient to self-medicate in error. Thus, we need to evaluate the non-oriented self-assessment of BP in real-life circumstances in hypertensive patients. The objective of this study was to evaluate in hypertensive patients the association of BP self-measurement with its control, as well as the presence of anxiety disorders, the occurrence of unscheduled visits to the emergency room, and self-medication. Materials and Methods: An observational study was carried out with 1000 hypertensive volunteers (age: 61.0 ± 12.5). Using a questionnaire, sociodemographic and clinical data on BP control were collected. Anxiety was assessed by the State-Trait Anxiety Inventory (STAI). Results: The group that performed non-oriented self-measurement of BP, showed that they had higher frequencies of self-medication (57.9%, p < 0.05) and more unscheduled visits to the emergency room (68%, p < 0.05). In addition, a lower level of BP control (46.8%, p < 0.05) was associated with higher levels of anxiety (52.3%, p < 0.05) in the group that performed non-oriented self-measurements of BP. Conclusion: The practice of non-oriented self-assessment of BP was associated with negative factors such as high levels of anxiety and higher frequencies of self-medication and unscheduled emergency visits.
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