Hypertension screening in a dental surgery: a Hungarian study.

Blood pressure screening measurements were made on 1,004 consecutive patients attending a dental surgery in the city of Szeged. Twenty-four per cent of the adults were found to be hypertensive by WHO criteria (blood pressure greater than 160/95 mmHg), of whom 35% were unaware of their disease. Forty-two per cent of those receiving antihypertensive drug treatment had inadequately controlled blood pressure. Thirty-seven per cent (217) of the women (total 597) used oral contraceptive pills, of whom 37% (85) had stopped taking them previously. The blood pressure was higher and hypertension was more frequent in 'pill' users. This phenomenon seems to be at least partially reversible.