Journal of Medicine, Physiology and Biophysics www.iiste.org ISSN 2422-8427 An International Peer-reviewed Journal Vol.43, 2018 57 Frequency of Hypertension in Ischemic and Hemorrhagic Strokes: A Cross-sectional Study at a Tertiary Care Hospital of Multan, South-Punjab Pakistan Dr. Maryam Samad Dr. Mishaim Khan Dr. Rabia Nawaz House Officer Nishtar Hospital Multan Abstract Background: Stroke is a global health problem. Stroke is responsible for major disabilities in adult population, and is 2 nd leading cause of deaths all over the world. Estimated 15 million people all over the world become victim of stroke every year all over the world, of which 5 million die and other 5 million are left permanently disabled and thus major burden on the sufferer and families as well. Different studies have reported hypertension as major cause of stroke in different populations. Objective: To determine the frequency of hypertension among ischemic stroke and hemorrhagic stroke at a tertiary care hospital. Subjects and Methods: Our study included 246 stroke patients which were recruited from Department of Medicine Nishtar Medical University Hospital Multan. Specific history concerning hypertension was inquired from all patients. Blood pressure of all the patients was measured. Blood pressure levels were measured by researcher using random-zero sphygmomanometers with the subject seated quietly. Two readings of blood pressure were taken and average of the two readings was noted in the proforma. ECG of all the patients was done and checked for the fulfillness of criteria of left ventricular hypertrophy i.e. Sokolow-Lyon Index, Cornell Voltage Criteria. Results: Our study included 246 stroke patients, 160 (65%) were male patients and 86 (35%) were female patients. Mean age of our study cases was 59.63 + 11.24 years. Ischemic stroke was observed in 133 (54.1%) of our study cases, while hemorrhagic stroke was noted in 113 (45.9%) of our study cases and 13 (5.3%) had previous history of stroke as well. Smoking was observed in 110 (44.7%) of our study cases and all the smokers were male patients. Alcohol consumption and family history of stroke was zero in our study cases. Of these 246 stroke patients, 148 (60.2%) were known hypertensive and all of them were taking anti-hypertensive medication. Frequency of hypertension in our study was 168 (68.3%) at presentation. Conclusion: Higher frequencies of modifiable risk factors was seen with Hypertension was the leading risk factor of stroke in our study. These findings point towards well directed efforts regarding conventional interventions in our population. Hemorrhagic stroke was significantly associated with elevated blood pressure. Hypertension was significantly associated with increasing age, diabetes, previous history of stroke, hemorrhagic stroke and smoking in stroke patients. Keywords: Stroke, Hypertension, Ischemic, hemorrhagic. Introduction Stroke is an global health issue and one of the leading causes of disabilities in adults. It is also regarded as 2 nd leading cause of deaths all over the world 1 . Worldwide, around 20 million persons suffer stroke every year while half of these die due to its related complications and others are left with life-long disabilities which exerts significant impact on the suffering families, community and society 2 . WHO estimates have reported that after ischemic heart diseases stroke will retain its position as 2 nd leading cause of death by the year 2020. These death rates have been equally distributed in both developed and developing countries 3 however strikingly data have shown stroke prevalence in developing countries is more common in younger individuals when compared with western populations. It means greater proportions of long term disabilities among survivors of stroke from low and middle income countries which contribute towards extra burden of sustained disability and lack of productivity of main work force of those nations 4 .