The International Hypertension League, which serves as the umbrella body for 85 national hypertension societies and leagues, has proclaimed and established the day as World Hypertension Day. The purpose of the day is to raise awareness about high blood pressure.
Every year on May 17th, World Hypertension Day is commemorated to increase awareness and encourage hypertension prevention, detection and management (deferred to October 17, 2020, due to COVID-19 pandemic).The primary risk factor for developing cardiovascular disease is high blood pressure. Hypertension, or high blood pressure affects more than a billion people worldwide and is a leafing cause of cardiovascular diseases and that mortality.
Two-thirds of instances of hypertension are found in low- and middle-income nations, and this is partly because risk factors have risen in those populations over the past few decades. However, almost half of those who have hypertension are unaware of it, which puts them at risk of available medical complications and death.
The Global Hearts Initiative was started in 2016 by the WHO and the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in order to reach the global goal of reducing the prevalence of hypertension by 25% by 2025.
The Initiative aims to enhance heart health globally through its five technological packages, HEARTS (manage cardiovascular illnesses), EMPOWER (control tobacco), Active (promote physical activity), SHAKE (lower salt consumption), and REPLACE (remove trans fat). The HEARTS technical package itself offers recommendations for identifying and managing persons with hypertension in primary care mare successfully.
In 2023, the theme is Measure Your Blood Pressure Accurately, Control It, Live Longer, focusing on combatting low awareness rates worldwide, especially in low to middle income areas, and accurate blood pressure measurement methods. Some Resources include a free online course on accurate automated blood pressure measurement offered by PAHO, and guidelines for checking accuracy of BP monitors in 16 languages.
This important worldwide activity was created by the WHL and first held on May 14, 2005, with the theme: Know Your Numbers! WHD was a resounding success with 24 countries participating, and since then World Hypertension Day has been an ever expanding yearly event. It’s purpose is to communicate to the lay public the importance of hypertension and its serious medical complications, and to provide information on prevention, detection and treatment. To do this requires cooperation of health care professionals, media, volunteer organizations and government in each country.
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