EFFECT OF HYPERTENSION ON BODY MASS INDEX AND TOTAL CHOLESTEROL LEVELS AS RISK FACTORS IN ISCHEMIC HEART DISEASES

Introduction: Dyslipidaemia and hypertension are important predisposing factors leading to cardiovascular diseases. Obesity also increases the risk of hypertension, coronary artery disease and dyslipidaemia. Objective: Purpose of this study was to find out a relationship between body mass index and total cholesterol levels in 100 hypertensive patients. Materials and Methods: Study was performed in Chemical Pathology Department of Army Medical College, Rawalpindi in collaboration with Department of Medicine, Combined Military Hospital, Rawalpindi. It is a cross – sectional study and simple non-probability random sampling was used. Hundred hypertensive patients were included in the study. Data was recorded using a detai- led proforma and analysis was done on SPSS version 17. Results: Of the 100 hypertensive patients included in the study, there were 39 males while 61 were females. The mean age was 60.1 ± 11.5 years. The mean blood pressure was 171 ± 13.1/105.2 ± 6.6 mm of Hg. Mean body mass index was 28.6 ± 3.97. Mean of total cholesterol was 5.7 ± 0.7 mmol/L in all the patients. Conclusion: Hypertension, dyslipidaemia and increased BMI increase go hand in hand with the risk of cardiovascular disease. Treatment strategies should be adopted to treat hypertension and dyslipidemia aggressively and lifestyle modifications are necessary for reducing BMI.