Did you know that 40% of adults aged 25 and over had raised blood pressure in 2008? According to the World Health Organization (WHO), cardiovascular diseases are the number one cause of death globally. Sometimes characterized as a “silent killer” because it does not always produce symptoms and goes undiagnosed, high blood pressure is the focus of this year’s World Health Day. The WHO picks a theme each year to highlight a “priority area of global public health concern.”
To help raise awareness of this global public health issue and to increase preventative measures, the WHO makes accessible statistics, trends, and publications related to high blood pressure. A WHO global brief on hypertension published earlier this week highlights how hypertension is a global public health issue, yet is: “both preventable and treatable and how governments, health workers, civil society, the private sector, families and individuals can join forces to reduce hypertension and its impact. ”
You can go to the World Health Organization to get more information about public health and hypertension and to learn more about previous World Health Days.
Additional resources for high blood pressure prevention, diagnosis, facts, and publications:
THL News Blog 