Between 76 million and 130 million deaths from cardiovascular diseases could be avoided worldwide between 2022 and 2050 if hypertension (HBP) is left out of control. For this, the global objectives of hypertension set by the World Health Organization (WHO) should be achieved: 80% of patients diagnosed, 80% receiving treatment and 80% reaching the blood pressure levels defined in the guidelines, ensures an investigation that is published in «Nature Medicine».
High blood pressure or hypertension is the main modifiable risk factor for cardiovascular diseases (CVD) and its associated mortality. The problem is that although there are cost-effective interventions for the prevention and management of this disease, however, until now their implementation both nationally and globally has not been a priority in many countries.
The study now published in “Nature Medicine” proposes that countries adopt an 80-80-80 target in their national hypertension policies.
Achieving the global 80-80-80 targets could represent one of the most important global public health achievements of the coming decades
The authors, coordinated by David A. Watkins, from the University of Washington (USA), modeled the impacts of three hypertension control scenarios in 182 countries in the context of these objectives: maintain the current situation, that is, make no effort to expand diagnosis and treatment; to carry out advances in the control of hypertension, and aspirational, the control of hypertension is defined by the guidelines.
According to this team, between 4-7% (between 76 and 130 million) of deaths from all causes could be avoided in the last two scenarios by 2050.
The greatest progress would be made in the poorest countries, where coverage of hypertension interventions is currently highly improvable.
Most countries could achieve an 80-80-80 target by 2040 in the aspirational scenario.
The authors conclude that achieving the 80-80-80 targets for hypertension worldwide could represent one of the most important global public health achievements of the coming decades.
Implementation of such a strategy, they say, could substantially reduce global inequalities in the impact of cardiovascular disease.
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