May Measurement Month 2019: an analysis of blood pressure screening results from India

May Measurement Month is a global screening campaign to raise awareness regarding elevated blood pressure (BP). With the growing burden of hypertension, it is imperative to regularly assess the disease’s prevalence, risk factors, and awareness levels in a country. The current prevalence of hypertension in India as per the National Family Health Survey Data stands at 25.3%. May Measurement Month mobilizes healthcare professionals and sensitizes them to regularly measure BP, and impart lifestyle modification advice to the community. It also complements the deficiency in screening programmes at a national and international level.

May Measurement Month was carried out in May 2019 as an opportunistic screening campaign for adults (≥18 years). It was carried out by over 5000 trained volunteers across approximately 1000 screening sites (hospitals, public places, pharmacies, villages, and malls) in India. A total of 362 708 (57% males and 42.7% females) people were screened, among whom 68.1% had never measured their BP, and 29.4% (n = 106 522) were found to have hypertension. Of these, only 42.0% were on antihypertensive medication and 23.3% had controlled hypertension.

Almost a third of the screened population had hypertension, and less than half of those with hypertension were aware of it or on treatment for it. Among those on antihypertensive drugs, BP was controlled in only half of them. These results support the need for greater impetus on BP screening initiatives to detect hypertension early in the community and prevent complications due to uncontrolled BP.