World Hypertension Day
May 17 - 17
Measure your blood pressure, control it, live longer!
Hypertension affects more than 30% of the adult population worldwide, more than one billion people around the world. It is the main risk factor for cardiovascular diseases, especially coronary heart disease and stroke, but also for chronic kidney disease, heart failure, arrhythmia and dementia.
The burden of hypertension is felt disproportionately in low- and middle-income countries, where two-thirds of cases are found, largely due to increased risk factors in those populations in recent decades. What’s more, around half of people living with hypertension are unaware of their condition, putting them at risk of avoidable medical complications and death. Accurate blood pressure (BP) measurement is essential for the proper diagnosis and management of hypertension. BP measurement is perhaps the most commonly performed procedure in clinical medicine and, although it seems simple at first glance, current suboptimal measurement leads to negatively impacting clinical management decisions in 20 – 45% of cases. Assessing healthcare workers performance of BP measurement and how to improve it are key elements of a successful hypertension control program. Join PAHO celebration of World Hypertension Day participating on the webinar “Measure Your Blood Pressure Accurately, Control It, Live Longer!”, on Friday 21 May, and share the communications materials in your social networks to raise awareness and promote the accurate blood pressure measurement
Hypertension affects more than 30% of the adult population worldwide, more than one billion people around the world. It is the main risk factor for cardiovascular diseases, especially coronary heart disease and stroke, but also for chronic kidney disease, heart failure, arrhythmia and dementia.
The burden of hypertension is felt disproportionately in low- and middle-income countries, where two-thirds of cases are found, largely due to increased risk factors in those populations in recent decades. What’s more, around half of people living with hypertension are unaware of their condition, putting them at risk of avoidable medical complications and death. Accurate blood pressure (BP) measurement is essential for the proper diagnosis and management of hypertension. BP measurement is perhaps the most commonly performed procedure in clinical medicine and, although it seems simple at first glance, current suboptimal measurement leads to negatively impacting clinical management decisions in 20 – 45% of cases. Assessing healthcare workers performance of BP measurement and how to improve it are key elements of a successful hypertension control program. Join PAHO celebration of World Hypertension Day participating on the webinar “Measure Your Blood Pressure Accurately, Control It, Live Longer!”, on Friday 21 May, and share the communications materials in your social networks to raise awareness and promote the accurate blood pressure measurement