~21~ International Journal of Statistics and Applied Mathematics 2021; 6(2): 21-26 ISSN: 2456-1452 Maths 2021; 6(2): 21-26 © 2021 Stats & Maths www.mathsjournal.com Received: 07-01-2021 Accepted: 09-02-2021 Kingsley Chinedu Arum Department of Statistics, Faculty of Physical Science, University of Nigeria Nsukka, Enugu State, Nigeria Chinonso Paul Nweke Department of Statistics, Faculty of Physical Science, University of Nigeria Nsukka, Enugu State, Nigeria Henrietta Ebele Oranye Department of Statistics, Faculty of Physical Science, University of Nigeria Nsukka, Enugu State, Nigeria Pascal Ifeanyi Agu Department of Statistics, Faculty of Physical Science, University of Nigeria Nsukka, Enugu State, Nigeria Tobias Ejiofor Ugah Department of Statistics, Faculty of Physical Science, University of Nigeria Nsukka, Enugu State, Nigeria Chigozie Louisa Jane Ugwu Department of Statistics, Faculty of Physical Science, University of Nigeria Nsukka, Enugu State, Nigeria Corresponding Author: Kingsley Chinedu Arum Department of Statistics, Faculty of Physical Science, University of Nigeria Nsukka, Enugu State, Nigeria Statistical study of reported cases of hypertensive patients at Akulue Memorial hospital, Nsukka, Enugu state Kingsley Chinedu Arum, Chinonso Paul Nweke, Henrietta Ebele Oranye, Pascal Ifeanyi Agu, Tobias Ejiofor Ugah and Chigozie Louisa Jane Ugwu DOI: https://doi.org/10.22271/maths.2021.v6.i2a.659 Abstract Hypertension arises when the blood pressure against the artery walls is very high. Blood pressure is represented with two numbers. The first number (systolic) signifies the pressure in blood vessels when the heart beats and while second number (diastolic) denotes the pressure in the vessels when the heart rests between beats. Usually hypertension is referred to as blood pressure above 130/90, and is considered severe if the pressure is above 180/120. Hypertension has been a major public health challenge in the world at large which is also the most common widespread of diseases affecting human life. Hypertension has been an important area of research due to its high prevalence and major risk factors for cardiovascular diseases. It affects mostly adults and is called a silent killer because it shows no symptom. This article examines reported cases of hypertensive patients at Akulue Memorial Hospital, Nsukka, Enugu State. The data used in this research was collected from inpatient unit of the above mentioned hospital for a period of ten years, from 2009 to 2018. A 3-way contingency table was used based on Chi-squared test of independency. The result obtained from this study show that there is an association between the three criteria tested (gender, year and type of hypertension patient suffers). Also, we observed that the type of hypertension a patient suffers from depends on gender and year of occurrence. Keywords: hypertension, contingency table, chi-square test 1. Introduction Hypertension also known as high blood pressure is a worldwide problem that affects approximately 15-20% of all adults. Hypertension is a silent killer as it shows no symptom, it is simple to diagnose and usually can be controlled by healthy diet, regular exercise, medication prescribed by doctors or a combination of these, untreated hypertension will cause serious health condition [1] . Hypertension affects the structures and functions of small muscular arteries and other blood vessels and can cause damage to some organ in the body like kidney, brain and eye, related with the end stage of renal disease and to be the cause of stroke. Various antihypertensive drugs such as beta-blocking agents, hypotensive diuretics, calcium antagonist, angiotensin converting enzyme inhibitors (ACEI), angiotensin II receptor antagonists and alpha-receptor blocking agents were usually used to control hypertension. Two or more antihypertensive drugs from different categories can also be combined to achieve optimal results as the efficacy of these drugs is only about 40-60%. There are two types of hypertension, primary and secondary hypertension. Primary hypertension is a heterogeneous disorder as different patients have different factors that cause high blood pressure [2] . The cause of primary hypertension is still unknown but it is considered as the sum of interaction between genetic, environmental factors and life style [3] . Lifestyle factors include smoking, drinking too much alcohol, stress, being overweight, eating too much salt, and not getting enough exercise can also contribute to it. Secondary hypertension is when there’s an identifiable and potentially reversible cause of your hypertension.