Hypertension

Hypertension is defined as a systolic blood pressure equal to or above 140 mm Hg and/or diastolic blood pressure equal to or above 90 mm Hg. Hypertension also known as high blood pressure is a global public health concern. It contributes to the burden of heart disease, stroke, kidney failure, disability and premature death. This deadly disease does not present symptoms in the early stages as such many people remain undiagnosed. Early diagnosis and treatment comes with huge health and financial benefits since the treatment for complications of hypertension such as cardiac bypass surgery are quite costly.

The complications of hypertension accounts for 9.4 million deaths worldwide every year. The prevalence of hypertension is highest in Africa where 46% of adults aged 25 and above are diagnosed with the disease while, the lowest prevalence at 35% is found in the Americas. Overall developing countries have a higher prevalence of hypertension than developed countries. This might be partly due to the poorly structured healthcare systems in these developing countries, lack of access to care, poor health literacy, high risk behavior and poverty which explains in part, the high numbers of undiagnosed and untreated hypertension.

CAGISC’s Goal: To improve cardiovascular health of high risk populations through prevention, early diagnosis, and treatment of risk factors.

Our strategies to improve cardiovascular health of high risk populations include: