What is the Awareness Level of the Hypertensive Elderly People on the Blood Pressure Measurement Follow-up and Device Calibration?

Objective: Patient awareness about blood pressure (BP) measurement is important for the management of hypertension. This study was conducted to determine the level of awareness among hypertensive elderly patients regarding how to measure their blood pressure, following up and calibrating the device they use. Methods: This descriptive and cross-sectional study was conducted between January and May 2018. The population examined in the study consisted of the elderly people who lived in the centre of a province in the Eastern Black Sea Region in Turkey The study included 363 elderly people. Results: This study revealed that despite using antihypertensive medicines, some of the elderly patients had out-of-range systolic (79.1%) and diastolic BP values (38.6%). The majority of the elderly people (83.6%) in this study did not have a properly calibrated device for home use. On average, the participants had their sphygmomanometers calibrated every 1.6 +/- 1.23 years. Conclusion: It was concluded that hypertensive elderly patients were not fully aware of the importance of measuring BP, raking follow-up measurements and knowing how to properly calibrate their devices. Therefore, health personnel should train hypertensive elderly patients regarding follow-up on their blood pressure measurements.