313A STUDY OF PREVALENCE OF HYPERTENSION AMONG THE RURAL POPULATION OF KOPPAL DISTRICT: A CROSSSECTIONAL STUDYObjective to find the prevalence of systolic and diastolic hypertension in rural Koppal. The cross-sectional study involved a survey of 764 individuals residing in rural areas of District Koppal. A structured pretested schedule was used to collect data regarding demographic characteristics and blood pressure pattern. Proportions and Chi- square test were used to analyze data. The prevalence of systolic and diastolic hypertension was found to be 14.4% [95% CI: 12.04 – 17.02] and 12.7% [95% CI: 10.47 – 15.20] respectively. The proportion of hypertension (both systolic and diastolic) showed an increasing trend with age. Statistically significant differences were found with age, occupation and socio-economic class. The prevalence of systolic and diastolic hypertension was found to be high in rural Koppal, Genigeri area. Early detection of hypertension can be facilitated by periodic screening of the people regularly.bellararaghu@gmail.comResearch592015Prevalence,Hypertension,Rural study,KoppalRaghavendra Nagammanavar,Somashekhar G,Bellara Raghavendra Associate Professor, Department of General Medicine, Vijayanagara Institute of Medical Sciences, Bellary, Karnataka, India.,Assistant Professor, Department of General Medicine, Vijayanagara Institute of Medical Sciences, Bellary, Karnataka, India.,Associate Professor, Department of Community Medicine, Vijayanagara Institute of Medical Sciences, Bellary, Karnataka, India.