Hypertension High and Rising Burden but Getting Less Attention

Abstract

Hypertension or raised blood pressure is a leading cause of cardiovascular diseases worldwide (1). The proportion of hypertension in the global burden of diseases has increased from about 4.5% (0.9 billion adults) in 2000, to 7% in 2010 and was projected to rise to 1.6 billion adults in 2025 (2,3). Being a disease itself, hypertension is the leading global risk factor for cardiovascular, renal, neurological and ophthalmologic diseases. This makes hypertension the single most important cause of morbidity and mortality globally requiring the urgent need of action to address the problem (4).