09/19/2023

High Blood Pressure is the World’s Biggest Killer

Now there is a plan to tackle it

The World Health Organization (WHO) is taking on the world’s worst killer, laying out its first plan to conquer hypertension—a level of high blood pressure that affects one in every three adults globally. That figure has doubled since 1990. It’s now up to 1.3 billion people.

High blood pressure might sound like a disease of rich nations, but in a report released today during the United Nations General Assembly, the WHO said that three-fourths of people living with hypertension reside in low- and middle-income nations. Nearly half of them have no idea they have the condition, which causes heart attacks, kidney disease, and stroke. Four-fifths of them, including both people with a diagnosis and those who don't know they are affected, aren't getting adequate treatment to control it.

If that could be improved, the agency said, 76 million lives could be saved between now and the year 2050.

Please select this link to read the complete article from WIRED.