Objective: Describe the characteristics and pharmacological management of hypertensive patients in a Nicaraguan ambulatory care clinic.
Methods: The study analyzed a random sample of 349 charts of patients aged older than 18 years from an ambulatory care clinic in Nicaragua and analyzed those who were diagnosed or had a known history of hypertension.
Results: Out of 349 patients, 19.77% (n=69) had a history of hypertension. Hypertensive patients were 66.2% female (n=45) with mean age of 56.1 years (SD=13.7). The most common comorbid condition was type 2 diabetes mellitus, which was present in 18.8% (n=13) of hypertensive patients. Other comorbid conditions included 10% (n=7) with chronic kidney disease and 75.8% (n=50) who were either overweight or obese. The most commonly prescribed antihypertensive medications were losartan, captopril, and enalapril.
Conclusions: Hypertension is common in this clinic population and most commonly treated with angiotension-receptor blockers or angiotensin converting enzyme inhibitors.