High blood pressure, also called hypertension, is a major cause of heart disease and strokes. These conditions kill millions of people worldwide every year.
Despite the availability of effective treatments, many people with high blood pressure do not receive proper care. A new study suggests a simple plan that could save millions of lives if applied worldwide.
Researchers from the University of Washington and other institutions studied how well different countries control high blood pressure. They found that only about one in five people with hypertension manage to keep their blood pressure at a healthy level using medication.
This means that most people with the condition are at serious risk of heart attacks, strokes, and other health problems.
There are many reasons why high blood pressure is not well controlled. In some countries, medical facilities are limited, and people do not have easy access to doctors or medicine.
In other cases, people may not realize they have high blood pressure because it usually has no obvious symptoms. Some people may not take their condition seriously, and governments may not focus enough on making treatment widely available.
To address this problem, the researchers propose a simple but effective target called the 80-80-80 goal. This means:
- 80% of adults should get tested for high blood pressure.
- 80% of those diagnosed should receive treatment.
- 80% of those receiving treatment should successfully lower their blood pressure to safe levels.
Using a mathematical model, the researchers estimated how many lives could be saved if this goal were reached worldwide. The results were striking—between 76 and 130 million deaths could be prevented.
This number does not even include the millions of people who would avoid severe health problems, hospital stays, and disabilities caused by strokes and heart disease.
The researchers believe that most countries could adopt and achieve this goal. They argue that reaching the 80-80-80 target would be one of the greatest public health achievements of the coming decades.
High blood pressure is a silent but deadly condition, and controlling it should be a global priority. By ensuring more people are tested, treated, and successfully managing their condition, millions of lives could be saved, and the burden of heart disease could be greatly reduced.
If you care about high blood pressure, please read studies about unhealthy habits that may increase high blood pressure risk, and drinking green tea could help lower blood pressure.
For more information about high blood pressure, please see recent studies about what to eat or to avoid for high blood pressure, and 12 foods that lower blood pressure.
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