Patients assessed using teleconsultation due to high blood pressure during the COVID-19 pandemic in Tucuman (Argentina)

CARRIZO ALVARO; LOPEZ MARÍA EUGEMIA; MARAÑON RODRIGO; PERAL DE BRUNO MARIA; JOO TURONI CLAUDIO

Revista de la Facultad de Medicina

Facultad de Medicina de la Universidad Nacional de Colombia

Año: 2023 vol. 73

0120-0011

Introduction: During the COVID-19 pandemic there was a notable increase of telemedicine as an alternative way to provide health care services. In this context, the Virtual Cardiology Service of the Provincial Healthcare System of Tucumán, Argentine (SIPROSA for its acronym in Spanish) was created.Objective: To describe the characteristics of patients with or without a prior diagnosis of high blood pressure (HBP and non-HBP, respectively) who were assessed through teleconsultation at the Virtual Cardiology Service of the SIPROSA during the COVID-19 pandemic due to high blood pressure (BP) levels.Materials and methods: Cross-sectional descriptive study conducted in 275 patients (HBP=167; non-HBP=108) assessed at the Virtual Cardiology Service between July and September, 2021. Bivariate analyses (ANOVA, Student´s t-test and chi square test) were performed to determine differences between groups (HBP vs. non-HBP) according to sex. In addition, the Pearson correlation coefficient was used to establish the correlation between, on the one hand, age and body mass index, and, on the other, systolic blood pressure (SBP), diastolic blood pressure and pulse pressure values and the number of antihypertensive drugs used.Results: Patient’s average age was 48±1 years old, 69.45% were women, 61.81% had some degree of obesity, 22.91% were on a low-sodium diet and 48.36% had at least one of the risk factors (RF) of heart disease that were considered (diabetes, dyslipidemia, smoking). In the HBP group, the average number of antihypertensive drugs used was 1.2 and age was correlated with SBP values in both women (r: 0.2631; p