Knowledge of hypertensive patients on risk factors and warning signs of stroke

Abstract

Stroke is the largest cause of death worldwide and the primary cause of disability. As a result, it was required to investigate the level of hypertension patients' knowledge of risk factors and warning symptoms. A descriptive cross- sectional study carried out among 200 hypertensive patients who were selected using purposive sampling technique. The tool was constructed with three sections: demographic data, risk factor awareness, and stroke signs and symptoms. The study results show that he total mean of knowledge on risk factors of stroke was 11.73 with the SD of 2.17 and warning signs was 9.61 with the SD of 1.99. The gender, age and level of education had significant relationship with knowledge of the hypertensive patients on risk factors of stroke at p=0.05 level. The study concludes that the majority of hypertension patients had insufficient understanding of stroke risk factors and warning symptoms. Hence, the first priority should be to raise public knowledge of hypertension and support primary prevention in order to reduce the morbidity and mortality related to stroke. Keywords: Knowledge, Hypertensive Patients, Risk Factors, Warning Signs, Stroke