High blood pressure, also known as hypertension, is a common health issue for adults worldwide. In 2019, there were more than one billion reported cases.
When blood pressure isn’t well controlled, it can lead to changes in the heart, affecting its valves, chambers, and muscles.
This condition, called hypertensive heart disease (HHD), can lead to permanent damage to the heart and eventually cause heart failure.
Today, over 15 million people worldwide suffer from HHD, making it the second leading cause of heart failure.
This poses a significant challenge to healthcare that needs immediate attention. While HHD mostly affects older adults, we have limited information about how it’s changing in this group.
To tackle this problem, a research team from China’s Hypertension Center, Fuwai Hospital, conducted a comprehensive study on the impact of HHD among older adults aged 60 to 89 years on a global scale.
Their study, led by Professor Jun Cai, was published in the Chinese Medical Journal.
Professor Cai emphasizes, “HHD is a major concern in managing hypertension and a significant public health challenge.”
The researchers used data from the Global Burden of Disease Study 2019.
They analyzed information from 204 countries, looking at the incidence, prevalence, mortality, and disability-adjusted life years (DALY) related to HHD between 1990 and 2019, considering age, sex, location, and year.
The study revealed an overall increase in HHD prevalence worldwide between 1990 and 2019, but there was a decrease in mortality and DALY rates. This pattern was consistent across genders, age groups, and socioeconomic development indicators.
Unfortunately, these results present a difficult situation for healthcare systems. With higher prevalence but lower mortality, more people will need treatment for HHD.
Professor Cai notes, “We’ve seen the largest increase in HHD prevalence since 2017, along with a slowing decrease in HHD-related mortality and DALY rate since 2014. This indicates an urgent need to address the growing burden of HHD.”
Interestingly, the study showed differences between males and females. While males had a higher prevalence of HHD, females had higher mortality and DALY rates.
This suggests that cardiovascular disease management in females may be less effective, leading to worse outcomes. The gap in HHD prevalence between males and females is also narrowing.
Professor Cai emphasizes, “Our findings highlight disparities in the disease burden between the sexes, and we must not overlook the burden of HHD in older females.”
Notably, there were significant variations in HHD indicators among countries and different socioeconomic groups. Out of 204 countries, 85 showed a significant increase in HHD prevalence, while 81 had a significant decrease between 1990 and 2019.
High-income Asia-Pacific countries, such as Japan, Singapore, and South Korea, had the highest increase in HHD prevalence but also the largest decrease in HHD mortality and DALY rates.
Despite their aging populations, these countries have managed to control risk factors through effective healthcare and public awareness.
In summary, this study sheds light on the global, regional, and national burden of HHD among older adults and provides a foundation for strategies to combat this challenging condition.
Professor Cai concludes, “There are gaps in preventing, managing, and treating HHD worldwide.
Our findings reveal the current state of HHD and its trends, highlighting disparities in the burden of HHD among older adults globally. We need public health interventions at both individual and population levels to address this issue.”
If you care about high blood pressure, please read studies that early time-restricted eating could help improve blood pressure, and natural coconut sugar could help reduce blood pressure and artery stiffness.
For more information about blood pressure, please see recent studies about added sugar in your diet linked to higher blood pressure, and results showing vitamin D could improve blood pressure in people with diabetes.
The research findings can be found in the Chinese Medical Journal.
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