By Princess-Ekwi Ajide, Abuja
A report by the World Health Organisation, WHO, has revealed that approximately four out of every five people with hypertension are not adequately treated adding that if countries scale up coverage of hypertension, 76 million deaths could be averted between 2023 and 2050.
The WHO’s first-ever report on the devastating global impact of high blood pressure, and recommendations on various ways to win the race against the silent killer, which was launched at the 78th Session of the United Nations General Assembly, stated that half of the people with hypertension are not aware of their conditions.
The report, revealed thar hypertension affects 1 in 3 adults worldwide, and is the common deadly condition leads to stroke, heart attack, heart failure, kidney damage and many other health problems.
The report further indicated that the number of people living with hypertension (blood pressure of 140/90 mmHg or higher or taking medication for hypertension) doubled between 1990 and 2019, from 650 million to 1.3 billion.
This notwithstanding, the WHO Director-General, Dr. Tedros Ghebreyesus says Hypertension can be controlled effectively with simple, low-cost medication regimens, but only about one in five people with hypertension have controlled it.
He opined that hypertension control programmes have remained neglected, under-prioritised and vastly underfunded, advocating that strengthening hypertension control must be part of every country’s journey towards universal health coverage, based on well-functioning, equitable and resilient health systems, built on a foundation of primary health care.
Dr. Ghebreyesus said that better prevention and control of hypertension will be essential to progress and attainment if the Sustainable Development Goals adding that an increase in the number of patients effectively treated for hypertension to levels observed in high-performing countries could prevent 76 million deaths, 120 million strokes, 79 million heart attacks, and 17 million cases of heart failure between now and 2050.
The WHO Director General, said that prevention, early detection and effective management of hypertension are among the most cost-effective interventions in health care and should be prioritised by countries as part of their national health benefit package offered at a primary care level.
The WHO Global Ambassador for Non-communicable Diseases and Injuries, Mr. Michael Bloomberg, said that most heart attacks and strokes in the world today can be prevented with affordable, safe, accessible medicines.
According to him, treating hypertension through primary health care will save lives, while also saving billions of dollars a year.
