ArticleChristmas BW, Turner AS.
N Z Med J. 1977 Nov 09;86(599):419-23.
The prevalence of hypertensive levels of blood pressure was investigated in a random sample of 2535 adults in Napier in 1973. More than 70 percent of all persons examined had been measured for blood pressure within the previous five years. A retrospective analysis of results using the WHO classification indicated that 16.4 percent of the adult population had a mean systolic pressure of not less than 160mmHg or mean diastolic pressure of not less than 95mmHg. One third of the hypertensive group was receiving treatment and one half of those on therapy were effectively controlled. The total prevalence of treated and untreated hypertensives was estimated to be 20 percent of the survey population. According to the WHO criteria for blood pressure classification 33 percent of those over 60 years were hypertensive.