Diagnosing the Missing Cases of Hypertension: An Opportunistic Screening among Engineers in a Training Institute in Aurangabad, Maharashtra, India

1) To study knowledge and awareness about risk factors and complications of hypertension among engineers.

2) To identify missing opportunities to diagnose hypertension.

A questionnaire based cross-sectional study was conducted during the month of July 2013 amongst 80 engineers undergoing training in WALMI (water and land management institute), Aurangabad.

The knowledge about complications associated with hypertension was considerably low. For instance, only 15.6% believed that hypertension can cause kidney failure while 40.6% of the respondents agreed very much that severe hypertension can lead to heart attack which could lead to the death of the affected person. Only 9.4% agreed that hypertension can result to retinal failure. Among 80 participants we found 22 persons having blood pressure above 140/90 mm hg on both readings of which only 10 were aware of their hypertension of which only 6 were taking medicines of which only 4 persons were taking regular medicine and follows all advice given by doctor about life style modification.

In the main time, one of the cornerstones to achieving positive health behavior towards hypertension is through public education. This calls for compulsory on-job screening and educative programs in the form of seminars and conferences for all categories of staff.