MEDICO-SOCIAL FACTORS INFLUENCING THE COURSE OF ARTERIAL HYPERTENSION AND THE QUALITY OF LIFE
Specific risk factors of cardiovascular disorders resulting from intense occupational activity were studied in 195 assembly-line shift workers with arterial hypertension. 65 of them suffered boundary AH, 69 and 61 presented with grade I and II AH respectively. The control group included 30 healthy subjects engaged at the same production facility. It was shown that the main risk factors, besides emotional stress, were smoking, alcohol abuse, obesity, and hyperlipidemia. The high level of sociocultural risk factors suggests poor awareness of the patients about their health conditions and measures for its improvement. Analysis of the results of examination demonstrated a significant deviation of some echocardiographic characteristics from normal values and severity of somatogenic disorders with age and job tenure. The observed relationships between structural characteristics of cardiac function in patients with different AP are of importance for prophylactic and treatment of AH.