Priorities for research on hypertension care delivery: web annex: results of post-webinar surveys

Overview

Hypertension (HTN) is a major global public health problem. Cardiovascular diseases (CVDs) are the leading cause of death worldwide. Hypertension, which affects about 1.3 billion adults, is a major risk factor for many CVDs. Uncontrolled hypertension can lead to various adverse clinical conditions such as myocardial infarction, stroke, heart failure and kidney failure. Despite the availability of cost-effective interventions for hypertension treatment, only one in five people with hypertension has it under control.

As part of ongoing initiatives for countries to strengthen universal health care, the World Health Organization (WHO), together with ministries of health and other partners, has demonstrated the feasibility of using hypertension programmes in primary care as a pathfinder for universal health coverage. Improving service delivery for noncommunicable diseases is part of the WHO Thirteenth General Programme of Work and contributes to WHO’s Triple Billion Goal of having a billion more people with universal health coverage.