High Blood Pressure Tops 1 Billion People Across the Globe

Recently, the results from the first ever comprehensive global analysis of trends in hypertension prevalence, detection, treatment and control were released.  In addition to revealing the rise in incidence, the comprehensive global analysis identified several trends:

• Disparities in hypertension are rising. While rates are decreasing in wealthier countries, they are increasing in low- and middle-income countries. Across the globe, 82% of people with hypertension lived in low- and middle-income countries.
• Gaps in detection persist. Around 580 million of the people with hypertension did not know they had it because they had never received a diagnosis.
• Treatment remains out of reach for many. About 720 million people with hypertension were not receiving the treatment they needed. These numbers are especially troubling because hypertension can be easily detected at the primary health care level. Moreover, there are effective low-cost treatment options to control hypertension.

The analysis was released by the World Health Organization and the Imperial College of London. It conveys data from 1990-2019 from 100 million people across 184 countries.

Along with these study results, the World Health Organization released a new ‘Guideline for the Pharmacological Treatment of Hypertension in Adults’. These guidelines offer recommendations to help countries better manage hypertension, such as advice on initiating pharmacological treatment, using laboratory testing, and assessing cardiovascular disease risk.

With the creation of the UN Sustainable Development Goals in 2015, we have seen a greater focus on the management of noncommunicable diseases, like cardiovascular issues. Hypertension provides a unique opportunity in that it is easily diagnosable and has effective low-cost treatment options available. It is vital to ensure equitable access to timely diagnosis and treatment for people across the globe.