Hypertension, Cardiology, Primary Health and Patient Care

Social & Economic Aspects of Hypertension & Public Health

Hypertension or high blood pressure has been termed as the leading cause of cardiovascular mortality by The World Health Organization. According to the World Hypertension League, more than 50% of the hypertensive population worldwide are unaware of their condition. In 2005, the World Hypertension League began a worldwide awareness campaign on hypertension and they assigned May 17 as World Hypertension Day in order to address such issues. In USA, hypertension is the most common chronic medical issue resulting visits to primary health care providers. As estimated by the American Heart Association, the direct and indirect costs of high blood pressure in 2010 were $76.6 billion. According to reports in The USA, approximately 80% of people affected with hypertension are aware of their condition and 71% are taking some antihypertensive medication. Proper management of hypertension is often hampered by inadequate diagnosis, treatment, or control of high bold pressure. Healthcare professionals face difficulties in controlling blood pressure of patients due to resistance shown in taking multiple medications by their biological system. People affected with hypertension also face great difficulty in adaptation to their new lifestyle and medications. Public health deals with all the diseases and conditions that may affect the people. Public health officials are keen in their approach to deliver better diagnosis, treatment and care to people. For that the government is spending significant amount of money each year in research and development of medicines and new treatment methods in order to effectively and efficiently counter the emerging issues in public health. Awareness programs have been initiated by the government to increase the awareness among people about public health and its importance. Moreover, people are receiving necessary knowledge about various diseases. An active participation from both ends is required to effectively neutralize the epidemics.