Expand blood pressure treatment globally to save millions of lives, CDC says
Heart disease and stroke called 'silent killers on a mass scale'
About 10 million heart attacks and strokes worldwide could be averted in a decade by treating high blood pressure in half of those who need it, two leading public health agencies say.
Hypertension or high blood pressure is the main risk for cardiovascular diseases such as heart and stroke that are responsible for one in three deaths worldwide, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
In Thursday’s issue of The Lancet, CDC director Tom Frieden and his colleagues wrote a commentary describing a treatment project for hypertension. It draws on how HIV and tuberculosis treatment were provided in poorer countries.
"Heart disease and stroke are silent killers — on a mass scale," Frieden said in a release.
To him, the question is how quickly can programs to tackle hypertension be established worldwide. While only 13 per cent of the 1 billion people with hypertension worldwide have it under control, treatments can be made relatively inexpensive even though most patients need two different medications for optimal control, the authors said.
The standardized treatment would include specifics on drug doses, involve doctors, community volunteers, pharmacists and nurses, reduce barriers for patients such as providing once-daily medications, and track progress.