Introduction:

The control of blood pressure is a global challenge and one of the main public health problems nowadays.

Objectives:

To describe the factors related to the evolution, detection and control of hypertension in Cienfuegos from 2001 to 2011 in a scenario of universal access to health services.

Methods:

Population study developed during 2011, with a representative, probabilistic sample of 1276 adults in the ages from 25 to 74 years old whom lived in the city of Cienfuegos, Cuba.

Results:

From the hypertensive patients, 32,8 % were unaware of their condition, 90% of those who knew their condition had treatment, and 29,8 % were controlled. Uncontrolled hypertension’s risk was significantly higher in people with age ≥ 65 years, the ones of black race or mixed race, in the ones not attending to the doctor’s consultation or not controlling the blood pressure for more than one year. In relation to 2001, the percentage of hypertensive patients who did not know their condition increased by 11,3 %; the number of treated patients was reduced by 3,4 % and the level of control by 10%.

Conclusions:

There are a group of factors as age, race, and the lack of follow up to these patients in the health care services in order to detect and control hypertension that affect its behavior. The results, although better than those observed in other countries in the region, show a gap in terms of detection and control of hypertension, the follow up of the patients and management of the system in the year 2011 in comparison with the previous decade.

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